March 11 (Reuters) - Qatari-backed investment fund Irth

Capital this month offered to pay $47 a share to buy Papa John's

International, in a second attempt after it tried to buy the

pizza chain alongside Apollo Global Management ( APO ) last year, said

two sources familiar with the matter.

The offer would value the company at $1.5 billion.

Irth already owns roughly 10% of the company, with half of

its stake in derivatives, one of the sources said. There is no

certainty Papa John's will accept Irth's offer under review, and

another bidder could emerge, said the two sources, who could not

speak publicly about the private talks.

Papa John's stock price surged nearly 20% after the

Wall Street Journal first reported news of the bid and closed

trading at $38.86.

Papa John's and Irth declined to comment.

Private equity giant Apollo Global withdrew its

offer to take the pizza chain private for $64 a share, Reuters

reported in November.

Following this development, activist investor Irenic Capital

Management built a stake in Papa John's, adding to the mounting

speculation about the pizza chain's future.

Apollo and Irth Capital Management submitted a joint offer

for the company at just above $60 per share earlier last year,

before Apollo submitted a solo bid in early October, Reuters

previously reported.

Irth is no longer working with Apollo and its proposal

includes backing from Brookfield Asset Management ( BAM ), one

of the sources said.

Irth, established in 2024 and backed by a member of the

Qatari royal family, is led by co-founders Sheikh Mohamed bin

Abdulla Al-Thani and Matthew Bradshaw.

A deal for Papa John's would be among its first major

transactions.

Papa John's started in Jeffersonville, Indiana, in 1984 and

went public in 1993. It has been attempting a turnaround

strategy after years of battling weak demand under multiple

CEOs.