Papa John's Acquires Minnesota Pizza Company

LOUISVILLE, Kentucky (March 29, 1999) -- Papa John's International, Inc. announced its acquisition of Minnesota Pizza Company, LLC, a franchisee which operates 37 Papa John's restaurants in the Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota market. The acquisition is a stock-for-stock transaction and will be accounted for as a pooling of interests. Terms were not disclosed.

The Twin Cities has been one of Papa John's fastest growing Franchise markets since its development began in 1995. In addition to the 37 existing restaurants, the acquisition provides an opportunity for the opening of 10 to 12 additional restaurants in the market over the next 18 to 24 months.

For three years running, Papa John's has received the highest quality and overall customer satisfaction ratings among national pizza chains in the prestigious "Restaurants and Institutions'" Choice in Chains survey. Following the acquisition on March 28, 1999, there were 1,958 Papa John's restaurants (514 company-owned and 1,444 franchised) operating throughout the U.S. and in four international markets.

Papa John's International Inc., 502-266-2942