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Report: Wendy’s, Papa John’s held merger talks before racial incidentReport: Wendy’s, Papa John’s held merger talks before racial incident

Talks reportedly cooled amid scandal that led Papa John’s founder and chairman to step down

Nancy Luna, Senior editor, Nation's Restaurant News

July 19, 2018

1 Min Read
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The embattled founder of Papa John’s International reportedly was in talks with Wendy’s about merging the burger and pizza brands, according to sources cited Wednesday by the Wall Street Journal.

When asked if the merger talks were true, representatives for both Wendy’s and Papa John’s said they would not comment.

The purported merger comes as Papa John’s is under siege following a public relations debacle tied to its ousted founder and chairman, John Schnatter. The former CEO resigned after he admitted to using a racial slur during media training with a marketing agency. 

“The talks between Wendy’s officials and Mr. Schnatter, who still sits on the board and owns 29 percent of Papa John’s, were preliminary and began before he stepped down as chairman last week,” the Wall Street Journal said citing “people familiar with the matter.”

“The talks, which Papa John’s board was aware of, have cooled since the incident,” one of the sources said.

Schnatter founded the company in 1984, and he retains a board seat.

On Sunday, the board of Louisville, Ky.-based Papa John’s terminated its 2007 Founder Agreement, which called for him to attend corporate events, participate in management and investor meetings and act as brand spokesman. The company also removed Schnatter from its advertising.

Papa’s John’s, the nation’s third largest pizza chain, has previously dealt with controversy around Schnatter’s actions. In December, Schnatter stepped down as Papa John’s president and CEO  after he blamed the company’s flagging sales on the National Football League for not quelling players’ on-field “take a knee” protests.

Contact Nancy Luna at [email protected] 

Follow her on Twitter: @FastFoodMaven

About the Author

Nancy Luna

Senior editor, Nation's Restaurant News

Nancy Luna is a senior editor at Nation's Restaurant News and a contributing editor at Supermarket News. She covers the industry's largest and most talked about fast-food brands including McDonald's, Starbucks, Chipotle Mexican Grill, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, KFC and Subway. She is an award-winning journalist with more than 25 years reporting experience. As a veteran business reporter based in Southern California, Nancy has covered some of the country's most beloved food and retail brands including In-N-Out, Taco Bell, Trader Joe's, Aldi, Whole Foods Market, Target and Costco. Luna is a graduate of Cal State Fullerton. When she's not digging for news on her beat, you can find Nancy regaling her fans about her latest dining adventures on her Fast Food Maven social media channels. Contact [email protected]  or follow her on Twitter at https://twitter.com/fastfoodmaven

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