Papa John's International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA) announced Nov. 29, 1999 the acquisition of Perfect Pizza Holdings Limited, an operator and franchisor of 205 delivery and carry-out pizza restaurants in the United Kingdom. The purchase price was 20,000,000 pounds sterling (approximately $32,500,000) and was funded principally with cash. The acquisition will be accounted for as a purchase transaction and is expected to be slightly accretive to Papa John's in fiscal year 2000.

Perfect Pizza is the largest independent delivery and carry-out pizza chain in the United Kingdom, with a focus on quality. Perfect Pizza's existing management team, headed by pizza veteran Tony Sherriff, will remain in place. The chain's 15 corporate and 190 franchised units are scheduled to be converted to Papa John's restaurants over the next 36 to 48 months. The company estimates that the United Kingdom will eventually support 370 Papa John's restaurants.

"This purchase gives us a critical mass of restaurants in a major European market that would have taken us years to build from the ground up,'' said Papa John's Founder and CEO, John Schnatter. "We believe owning this quality-focused chain will provide us an excellent platform for advancing our international growth."