Leading private equity firm The Halifax Group announced today that it has completed an investment in PJU Holdings, Inc. the largest franchisee of Papa John's Pizza, and a former portfolio company of TPG Growth. Halifax partnered with CEO Doug Stephens and PJ United's management team, which will remain with the Company after the transaction. Halifax previously invested in the Company from 2007 to 2013. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Headquartered in Birmingham, AL, PJ United operates 194 stores across 10 states. Over its 29-year history, PJ United has grown into a leading restaurant operator in the pizza category, with one of the most experienced management teams in the industry.
Mr. Stephens said, "We are appreciative for the support that TPG Growth has provided us over the past years and are excited to partner again with Halifax to execute on our strategy for joint success. Halifax shares our passion for operational excellence and has demonstrated that it can be a valuable strategic partner that will allow us to continue to build our business."
Scott Plumridge, Managing Partner at Halifax, said, "We are honored to be chosen again by the PJ United management team as their partner, and to rejoin the Papa John's family. We have a tremendous amount of respect for the business that Doug and his team have built over the last three decades and continue to believe that Papa John's is the premier national brand in delivery pizza."
"We believe that the market for high-quality pizza products and delivery services presents an attractive opportunity for continued expansion and are excited to support an outstanding PJ United team," added Amit Swaroop, Vice President at Halifax.
About PJ United
Founded in 1991, PJ United is the country's largest franchisee of Papa John's Pizza. Headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama, PJ United operates 194 stores in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Ohio, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, and Virginia. Papa John's is well-known for its emphasis on quality, premium pizzas through the "Better Ingredients, Better Pizza" approach. For more information, visit www.papajohns.com.
About The Halifax Group
Founded in 1999, The Halifax Group is a private equity firm that partners with managers and entrepreneurs to recapitalize and grow lower middle-market businesses with total enterprise values generally between $50 million and $300 million. Halifax specializes in equity recapitalizations, corporate carve-outs and management buyouts and invests across a variety of industries, including outsourced business services, health and wellness and franchising. The firm is headquartered in Washington, D.C. For more information, please visit www.thehalifaxgroup.com.
About TPG Growth
TPG Growth is the middle market and growth equity investment platform of TPG, the global alternative asset firm. With approximately $15.4 billion of assets under management, TPG Growth targets investments in a broad range of industries and geographies. TPG Growth has the deep sector knowledge, operational resources, and global experience to drive value creation, and help companies reach their full potential. The platform is backed by the resources of TPG, which has approximately $85 billion of assets under management. For more information, please visit www.tpg.com or on Twitter @TPG.
