Papa John's Founder John Schnatter Sells Shares Worth $107.5 Million

Papa John’s founder John Schnatter is taking another step back from the pizza chain.

The founder and former CEO has sold 1.9 million shares, pocketing about $107.5 million in the process. With the sale, he still holds 2.9 million shares, which is more than a 9% stake in Papa John’s.

The sell-off comes as the stock continues to slide and new CEO Rob Lynch, who formerly ran Arby’s, finds his footing.

While Schnatter is selling shares, he still seemingly hasn’t abandoned his quest to regain control of the company he started. He recently told Fox Business “I am the only person who can fix Papa John’s. You are not going to fix Papa John’s without Papa John.”

An earnings report from the company Wednesday morning seems to contradict that, though. Papa John’s reported third quarter earnings of $403.7 million. Analysts were only expecting $384.6 million. North American same store sales exceeded expectations, as well. The company also announced an overhaul of its executive lineup, with the acting chief financial officer and chief operation and growth officer both departing.

Schnatter, at one point, owned 30% of the pizza chain. He and the company parted ways after he reportedly used racial slurs on a media training conference call. He resigned as chairman, but was kicked out of his office.