---
title: "Papa John's and Wendy's Discussed a Merger and Stocks are Climbing"
url: https://burnaze.com/article/8740ccbf-cfd9-404b-b4c3-ab5b08deec66
source: "1851 Franchise"
original_url: https://1851franchise.com/papa-johns-and-wendys-discussed-a-merger-and-stocks-are-climbing-2707197
category: "Pizza"
industry: "Restaurants"
segment: "Pizza"
topics: ["Finance & M&A"]
published: 2018-07-18T21:16:15.000Z
modified: 2026-11-01T01:59:16.738Z
image: https://newimage.1851franchise.com/cdn-cgi/image/quality=85,format=webp,width=1280,height=720/story/featureImage/85d4e1a6d748809c2c1a865aff585d222577.jpg
---

# Papa John's and Wendy's Discussed a Merger and Stocks are Climbing

**TL;DR:** Papa John's and Wendy's stocks are rising after reports of preliminary merger discussions between the two companies. The talks were initiated by Papa John's founder John Schnatter before he resigned as chairman.

*originally published in 1851 Franchise on 2018-07-18. [Read the original](https://1851franchise.com/papa-johns-and-wendys-discussed-a-merger-and-stocks-are-climbing-2707197).*

## Story

Papa John's and Wendy's stocks are on the rise after The Wall Street Journal reported the two franchise giants had entered into preliminary discussions about a merger before the pizza chain's founder, John Schnatter, stepped down last week. Sources said Schnatter initiated talks, which cooled after he resigned as chairman due to his use of a racial slur on a conference call.

It is unclear whether talks will resume as Papa John's continues to distance itself from Schnatter, who currently remains a board member with a 29 percent ownership stake in the company. Both sides declined to comment to CNBC .

Maddie has spent her career in the media industry, serving in various editorial roles before migrating into a hybrid content strategy and PR role with No Limit Agency. Her passion for storytelling and love of writing help her create meaningful content on behalf of her clients and fulfill No Limit Agency’s mission to tell people-driven stories. Maddie is a graduate of Saint Louis University, where she studied Communications with a focus in journalism and media studies as well as Sports Business.

In her spare time, Maddie can be found exploring Chicago’s food scene, watching an NBA game or lamenting over her middling fantasy baseball team.

## Entities

- 1851 Franchise (publication)
- Restaurants (sector)
- Wendy's (company)
- Papa Johns (company)
- stock prices (topic)
- merger discussions (topic)
- franchise giants (topic)
- Wendy's acquisition of Papa Johns (deal)

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Originally reported by 1851 Franchise (https://1851franchise.com/papa-johns-and-wendys-discussed-a-merger-and-stocks-are-climbing-2707197). Summarized by Burnaze (https://burnaze.com/article/8740ccbf-cfd9-404b-b4c3-ab5b08deec66).