Investor Who Made Olive Garden Salt Its Pasta Wants to Make Papa John’s Pizza Better

(Bloomberg) — The activist fund that wanted to add salt to the water at Olive Garden is about to dig into a turnaround at Papa John’s International Inc.

The embattled pizza chain, mired in a sales slump and trying to keep its distance from controversial founder John Schnatter, is taking a $200 million investment from Starboard Value LP and adding the fund’s Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey Smith to its board as chairman.

(Bloomberg) — The activist fund that wanted to add salt to the water at Olive Garden is about to dig into a turnaround at Papa John’s International Inc. The embattled pizza chain, mired in a sales slump and trying to keep its distance from controversial founder John Schnatter, is taking a $200 million investment from Starboard Value LP and adding the fund’s Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey Smith to its board as chairman.