So this is a weird one. Two of the most recognizable pizza names in America — Pizza Hut and Papa John’s — are both being circled by private-equity firms at the same time. Reuters broke the latest wrinkle this week: Papa John’s is a month into due diligence with a firm called Irth Capital, and Yum Brands just set another deadline for bids on Pizza Hut. Neither deal is signed. But the fact that both chains are on the block at once? That’s the story.

And honestly, if you’ve ordered from either of these places in the last year or two, you probably aren’t shocked.

What’s Happening

Here’s the quick version. Papa John’s has spent the past month letting a firm called Irth Capital poke around under the hood. Irth is a newer outfit (founded in 2024) backed by Brookfield Asset Management and a member of the Qatari royal family — yes, really. They put down a $47-per-share offer back in March, which works out to about $1.5 billion and a 44% premium over the share price. That’s a serious number.

Meanwhile over at Pizza Hut, parent company Yum Brands has told bidders this week is the deadline. The names getting tossed around, per Reuters: Sycamore Partners, Apollo Global Management, and LongRange Capital. Yum could pick one and go exclusive. Or keep the whole thing. Or spin it off. Nobody’s committed yet.

But look — whether either specific deal closes next week isn’t really the point. The point is both companies are leaning the same way: get off the public market, stop reporting quarterly, and quietly try to fix this mess. When two out of the top four do that at the same time, IMO that tells you everything about how rough chain pizza has gotten.

The Players and the Price Tags

Alright, quick scorecard. Here’s where both chains actually stand right now, because the headlines don’t really capture how different the two situations are (even if the end game looks similar).

Why Both Chains Are Stalling

Look at the numbers and it’s not a mystery. Pizza Hut’s system sales dropped more than 8% in 2025 according to Technomic data cited by Restaurant Business. They’re closing 250 U.S. stores this year. Papa John’s? Same-store sales have gone backward in seven of the last eight quarters. Their stock peaked around $130 a share in late 2021 and has been stuck in the mid-$30s ever since.

But here’s the part nobody really wants to say out loud: a lot of those Pizza Hut and Papa John’s locations look and feel exactly like they did in 2008. Same dining rooms. Same counter setup. Same everything. Meanwhile Domino’s spent the entire decade before COVID quietly remodeling, rebuilding stores around pickup, and treating delivery tech like a real business line. Pizza Hut and Papa John’s didn’t. And now the bill’s come due.

Why “go private” keeps coming up

Going private basically means no more quarterly earnings calls, no more Wall Street analysts second-guessing every move, no more public pressure when you have to close 500 stores in one swing. It’s a pretty obvious escape hatch when a brand needs a full rebuild. One industry source put it pretty well to Reuters:

Translation: “we’ve got a lot of unglamorous work to do and we’d rather nobody be watching while we do it.” Which, fair enough.

Delivery Apps Quietly Changed the Rules

Here’s the other thing that nobody at corporate wants to admit. For like forty years, Pizza Hut and Papa John’s owned delivery because they basically were delivery. If you wanted hot food dropped at your door on a Friday, you called one of them. That moat is completely gone.

As Fox News laid out recently, DoorDash and Uber Eats now drop a large pepperoni right next to sushi, a burrito, wings, Chili’s, Olive Garden — everything. Same list. Same tap to order. Vince Martin over at the Food Institute put it bluntly: Americans are still spending a ton on delivery, but a much bigger chunk of that is going to everything except pizza now. Even Domino’s has started listing on DoorDash and Uber Eats rather than trying to fight them — which tells you how the war ended.

Ever wondered why your last three takeout orders weren’t pizza? That’s why. The “couch-on-Friday-night pizza order” used to be the default setting in American households. Now it’s just one of fifty tabs open in the app.

What Happens Next

A few things worth keeping an eye on over the next few weeks:

• Papa John’s Q1 earnings on May 7. Sources told Reuters that some investors are hoping Irth closes the deal before the earnings drop. If the numbers stink, it probably seals the deal. If they surprise on the upside, it could actually stall things — which would be its own weird plot twist.
• Yum’s bid deadline this week. If the PE offers come in below what Yum wants, they might just keep Pizza Hut and try to figure it out. Or spin it off. Honestly, either is still on the table.
• The wildcard bidders. Some analysts have pointed out that Inspire Brands (Arby’s, Dunkin’, Buffalo Wild Wings) and Restaurant Brands International (Burger King, Popeyes, Tim Hortons) both don’t own a pizza chain yet. If one of them jumped in, prices could go up fast.
• The Little Caesars line. FYI — Restaurant Business flagged that Pizza Hut could realistically fall below Little Caesars in U.S. size as soon as next year. That’d be the first reshuffle at the top of American pizza in a generation. Kind of wild to think about.