Papa John’s Stock Surged on False Takeover Report. Shares Are Falling Today.

Papa John’s stock is down 18% over the past 12 months. (Joe Raedle / Getty Images)

Key Points

• Papa John’s stock surged 15% following a now-deleted report of a potential takeover by TriArtisan Capital Advisors.
• The acquisition rumor originated from ABC Money, a U.K.-based website designed to resemble ABC News.
• A source familiar with the matter stated on Tuesday morning that the acquisition rumor was not true.

Papa John’s International stock jumped as much as 15% and was halted on Monday after a now-deleted report of a potential takeover by TriArtisan Capital Advisors was published online.

On Tuesday morning, a person familiar with the matter said, “the acquisition rumor was not true.”

The report, which Barron’s cited on Monday, has since been deleted. It appeared on ABC Money, a U.K.-based website that isn’t associated with ABC News, the news division of American Broadcasting Company owned by The Walt Disney Company.

Barron’s reached out to Papa John’s and TriArtisan Capital Advisors on Monday to comment on the acquisition rumor, and didn’t get a response before publication.

Papa John’s stock was down 1.4% in premarket trading Tuesday after gaining 7% on Monday.

The report came one week after a Reuters report said that Apollo Global Management, another private-equity firm, withdrew its offer to take Papa John’s private.

TriArtisan has stakes in several well-known dining brands, including P.F. Chang’s and Hooters. The company struck a deal to acquire diner chain Denny’s for $620 million, which would further expand its presence in the restaurant sector.

Other private-equity firms have been eyeing the restaurant sector.

Roark Capital bought Dave’s Hot Chicken for around $1 billion in June, after acquiring Subway in 2024 for approximately $9.6 billion.

Blackstone took a majority stake in Jersey Mike’s Subs in January in a deal that valued the chain at roughly $8 billion including debt. It acquired Tropical Smoothie Cafe for about $2 billion in 2024, too.

Editor’s note: This article has been updated to include more details about the ABC Money report, which was deleted after the initial publication of this article.

Write to Evie Liu at evie.liu@barrons.com