---
title: "John Schnatter Confronts Papa John’s Board About ‘Poison Pill’"
url: https://burnaze.com/article/4a9fe693-f43b-466a-9769-b27869f2c180
source: "1851 Franchise"
original_url: https://1851franchise.com/john-schnatter-confronts-papa-johns-board-about-poison-pill-2708256
category: "Pizza"
industry: "Restaurants"
segment: "Pizza"
topics: ["Finance & M&A"]
published: 2018-10-22T20:15:02.000Z
modified: 2026-11-01T04:08:28.007Z
image: https://newimage.1851franchise.com/cdn-cgi/image/quality=85,format=webp,width=1280,height=720/story/featureImage/8c8db0cc0a40485982445dc1824e7e4c3131.jpg
---

# John Schnatter Confronts Papa John’s Board About ‘Poison Pill’

**TL;DR:** John Schnatter, Papa John's founder and majority shareholder, is confronting the company's board about a 'poison pill' provision that prevents him from acquiring more equity. Schnatter wants the board to remove the 'wolf pack' provision, which restricts his ability to discuss the company with potential investors.

*originally published in 1851 Franchise on 2018-10-22. [Read the original](https://1851franchise.com/john-schnatter-confronts-papa-johns-board-about-poison-pill-2708256).*

## Story

Every time Papa John’s makes progress in separating itself from its founder, John Schnatter comes roaring back. As the company explores a sale, Schnatter has called on Papa John’s board of directors to remove a provision included in the ‘poison pill’ it adopted in July to keep Schnatter from acquiring more equity, according to a CNBC article.

Schnatter, who remains Papa John’s majority shareholder, is demanding the board amend a so-called ‘wolf pack’ provision, which CNBC explained exists to prevent a dominant investor from teaming up with other investors to regain control of the company.

Schnatter claims third parties have expressed interest in speaking with him but the provision keeps him from discussing the company, his investment or investors’ plans for the company, effectively restricting his rights as a shareholder.

## Entities

- 1851 Franchise (publication)
- Restaurants (sector)
- Papa Johns (company)
- poison pill (topic)
- company sale (topic)
- shareholder rights (topic)
- Papa John's board of directors (regulator)

---
Originally reported by 1851 Franchise (https://1851franchise.com/john-schnatter-confronts-papa-johns-board-about-poison-pill-2708256). Summarized by Burnaze (https://burnaze.com/article/4a9fe693-f43b-466a-9769-b27869f2c180).