Papa John's International has inked a historic deal with FountainVest Partners, one of Asia's leading independent private equity firms, to open more than 1,350 stores across South China by 2040.

The company said it is the largest in the company's history and is expected to is expected to greatly expand the company's footprint in China, one of the world's fastest-growing pizza delivery markets, according to a press release.

FountainVest has also purchased a majority stake in current Papa Johns franchisee CFB Group, which owns and operates approximately 160 restaurants in Shanghai and across southern China. The addition of a committed franchisee partner begins another strong year of development activity for Papa Johns, following last year's major international and domestic development deals.

"This partnership with FountainVest marks another major milestone in achieving Papa Johns global growth potential, reflecting both the scale of our brand's global opportunity and the quality of franchisees that are investing in our future," Rob Lynch, president and CEO of Papa Johns, said in the release. "Papa Johns has enormous global development whitespace in the US and in attractive growth markets, especially relative to our peers. Our new development agreement with FountainVest alone stands to grow Papa Johns current global unit count by 25%."

"FountainVest is exactly the kind of partner we look to help grow our brand internationally. They are well-capitalized, experienced operators with deep knowledge of their local market. They clearly recognize our brand's promising outlook and strong unit economics. Together, we will bring our 'Better Ingredients. Better Pizza.' promise to millions of new customers in one of the largest QSR markets in the world," Amanda Clark, Papa Johns' chief development officer, said in the release.

Papa Johns operates 5,500 restaurants in 50 countries.

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