Papa John’s Founder May Want to Buy Back His Company

According to sources who spoke to CNBC, the ousted founder of Papa Johns, John Schnatter, is reaching out to private equity firms over buying the company back.

According to some of the unidentified sources, Schnatter is searching for money to help support an offer and several private equity firms have already turned him down.

The sources have said that the private equity firms are worried about risking their reputations if they partner with him.

Schnatter, who owns about 30% of Papa John’s, has denied the report through a spokesman however.

The most likely buyers for Papa John’s include Wendy’s, Restaurant Brands International and Inspire Brands.

It was this past July that Schnatter had been ousted as chairman of the company after racist remarks he made came to public light. According to Schnatter, the company’s board had staged a coup for him to forcefully resign.

“John Schnatter has not reached out to or had any discussions with any private equity firm or any other entity about buying Papa John’s,” Schnatter’s spokesman said in a statement. “Any such report about a potential transaction involving Mr. Schnatter is totally and completely false.”

Shares of Papa John’s have fallen nearly 40 percent over the past year but saw a gain of over 7% on the CNBC report that Schnatter may have interest in buying the company.

Disclaimer: We have no position in Papa John’s Int’l, Inc. (NASDAQ: PZZA) and have not been compensated for this article.