As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on May 9, 2018

Registration No. 333-

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

FORM S-8

REGISTRATION STATEMENT

UNDER THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933

PAPA JOHN’S INTERNATIONAL, INC.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

Delaware		61-1203323
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization)		(I.R.S. Employer Identification Number)

2002 Papa John’s Boulevard

Louisville, Kentucky 40299

(502) 261-7272

(Address, including zip code, and telephone number,

including area code, of registrant’s principal executive offices)

Papa John’s International, Inc.

2018 Omnibus Incentive Plan

(Full title of the Plan)

Joseph H. Smith, IV

Chief Financial Officer

Papa John’s International, Inc.

2002 Papa John’s Boulevard

Louisville, Kentucky 40299

(502) 261-7272

(Name, address and telephone number of agent for service)

Copies to:

Alan L. Dye

John B. Beckman

Hogan Lovells US LLP

555 Thirteenth Street, N.W.

Washington, D.C. 20004

(202) 637-5600

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act:

Large accelerated filer x		Accelerated filer o

Non-accelerated filer o (Do not check if a smaller reporting		Smaller reporting company o
company)		Emerging growth company o

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act company o

CALCULATION OF REGISTRATION FEE


Title of securities to be registered	Amount to be Registered (1)	Proposed maximum offering price per share (2)	Proposed maximum aggregate offering price (2)	Amount of registration fee
Common Stock, par value $0.01 per share	6,700,000 shares	$59.36	397,712,000	$49,515.14

(1)		Pursuant to Rule 416(a) of the Securities Act of 1933, this Registration Statement also covers an indeterminate number of additional shares that may become issuable under the plan referenced above as a result of a stock split, stock dividend or similar adjustment of the outstanding Common Stock.

(2)		Calculated pursuant to Rule 457(c) and (h) under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, on the basis of $59.36 per share, which was the average of the high and low sales prices of the Common Stock as reported on the NASDAQ Global Market on May 4, 2018.

PART I

As permitted by the rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”), this Registration Statement omits the information specified in Part I of Form S-8. The documents containing the information specified in Part I will be delivered to the participants in the plan as required by Rule 428(b)(1) under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”). Such documents are not being filed with the Commission as part of this Registration Statement or as prospectuses or prospectus supplements pursuant to Rule 424. These documents and the documents incorporated by reference in this Registration Statement pursuant to Item 3 of Part II hereof, taken together, constitute a prospectus that meets the requirements of Section 10(a) of the Securities Act.

PART II

INFORMATION REQUIRED IN THE REGISTRATION STATEMENT

Item 3. Incorporation of Documents by Reference

Papa John’s International, Inc. (the “Company”) hereby incorporates by reference into this Registration Statement the following documents:

(a) The Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2017;

(b) The Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended April 1, 2018;

(c) The Company’s Current Reports on Form 8-K and 8-K/A filed on January 16, 2018, January 19, 2018, February 9, 2018, May 2, 2018 and May 8, 2018; and

(d) The description of the Company’s Common Stock as contained in the Registration Statement on Form 8-A, filed by the Company to register its common stock under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (“Exchange Act”), and all amendments or reports filed for the purpose of updating such description prior to the termination of the offering of Common Stock made hereby.

All documents subsequently filed by the Company pursuant to Sections 13(a), 13(c), 14 and 15(d) of the Exchange Act, prior to the filing of a post-effective amendment to this Registration Statement which indicates that all securities offered have been sold, or which deregisters all securities remaining unsold, shall be deemed to be incorporated by reference in this Registration Statement and to be a part hereof from the date of filing of such documents. Unless specifically stated to the contrary, none of the information that the Company discloses under Items 2.02 or 7.01 of any Current Report on Form 8-K or 8-K/A that the Company may from time to time furnish to the Commission or any other document or information deemed to have been furnished and not filed with the Commission will be incorporated by reference into, or otherwise included in, this Registration Statement.

Item 4. Description of Securities

Not applicable.

Item 5. Interests of Named Experts and Counsel

Not applicable.

Item 6. Indemnification of Directors and Officers

Section 145 of the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware, as amended, provides that under certain circumstances a corporation may indemnify any person who was or is a party or is threatened to be made a party to any threatened, pending or completed action, suit or proceeding whether civil, criminal, administrative or investigative, by reason of the fact that he or she is or was a director, officer, employee or agent of the corporation or is or was serving at its request in such capacity in another corporation or business association, against expenses (including attorneys’ fees), judgments, fines and amounts paid in settlement actually and reasonably incurred by him or her in connection with such action, suit or proceeding if he or she acted in good faith and in a manner he or she reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the best interests of the corporation and, with respect to any criminal action or proceeding, had no reasonable cause to believe his or her conduct was unlawful.

Article Twelfth of the Company’s Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation provides:

“A director of the Corporation shall not be personally liable to the Corporation or its stockholders for monetary damages for breach of fiduciary duty as a director; provided, however, that the foregoing shall not eliminate or limit the liability of a director (i) for any breach of the director’s duty of loyalty to the Corporation or its stockholders, (ii) for acts or omissions not in good faith or which involve intentional misconduct or a knowing violation of law, (iii) under Section 174 of the General Corporation Law of Delaware or (iv) for any transaction from which the director derived an improper personal benefit. If the General Corporation Law of Delaware is hereafter amended to permit further elimination or limitation of the personal liability of directors, then the liability of a director of the Corporation shall be eliminated or limited to the fullest extent permitted by the General Corporation Law of Delaware as so amended. Any repeal or modification of this Article TWELFTH shall not adversely affect any right or protection of a director of the Corporation existing at the time of such repeal or modification.”

Article Sixteenth of the Company’s Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation provides:

“Each person who was or is made a party or is threatened to be made a party to or is involved (including, without limitation, as a witness) in any actual or threatened action, suit or proceeding, whether civil, criminal, administrative or investigative (hereinafter a “proceeding”), by reason of the fact that he or she is or was a director or officer of the Corporation or is or was serving at the request of the Corporation as a director or officer of another corporation or of a partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise, including service with respect to an employee benefit plan (hereinafter an “indemnitee”), whether the basis of such proceeding is alleged action in an official capacity as a director, officer or agent or in any other capacity while serving as such a director or officer, shall be indemnified and held harmless by the Corporation to the fullest extent authorized by the General Corporation Law of Delaware, as the same exists or may hereafter be amended (but, in the case of any such amendment, only to the extent that such amendment permits the Corporation to provide broader indemnification rights than said law permitted the Corporation to provide prior to such amendment), or by other applicable law as then in effect, against all expense, liability and loss (including attorneys’ fees, judgments, fines, excise taxes under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended from time to time (“ERISA”), penalties and amounts to be paid in settlement) actually and reasonably incurred or suffered by such indemnitee in connection therewith.”

The Company maintains liability insurance coverage for its officers and directors which entitles the Company to be reimbursed for certain indemnity payments it is required or permitted to make to its directors and officers with respect to actions arising out of the performance of such officer’s or director’s duties.

Item 7. Exemption from Registration Claimed

Not Applicable.

Item 8. Exhibits

Exhibit No.		Description

3.1		Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.1 to the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarterly period ended June 29, 2014).

3.2		Amended and Restated By-Laws (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.1 to the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarterly period ended September 27, 2015).

4.1		Specimen Common Stock Certificate (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.1 to the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2017).

5.1		Opinion of Hogan Lovells US LLP regarding the legality of the Common Stock registered hereby.*

10.1		Papa John’s International, Inc. 2018 Omnibus Incentive Plan. (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.1 of the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed May 8, 2018).

23.1		Consent of Hogan Lovells US LLP (included in Exhibit 5.1).*

23.2		Consent of Ernst & Young LLP, independent registered public accountants.*

24.1		Power of Attorney (included in the signature page to this registration statement).*

* Filed herewith.

Item 9. Undertakings.

(a) The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes:

(1) To file, during any period in which offers or sales are being made, a post-effective amendment to this Registration Statement:

(i) To include any prospectus required by Section 10(a)(3) of the Securities Act of 1933;

(ii) To reflect in the prospectus any facts or events arising after the effective date of the Registration Statement (or the most recent post-effective amendment thereof) which, individually or in the aggregate, represent a fundamental change in the information set forth in this Registration Statement. Notwithstanding the foregoing, any increase or decrease in volume of securities offered (if the total dollar value of securities offered would not exceed that which was registered) and any deviation from the low or high end of the estimated maximum offering range may be reflected in the form of prospectus filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) if, in the aggregate, the changes in volume and price represent no more than a 20 percent change in the maximum aggregate offering price set forth in the ‘‘Calculation of Registration Fee’’ table in the effective Registration Statement;

(iii) To include any material information with respect to the plan of distribution not previously disclosed in the Registration Statement or any material change to such information in the Registration Statement.

Provided, however, that paragraphs (a)(1)(i) and (a)(1)(ii) of this section do not apply if the information required to be included in a post-effective amendment by those paragraphs is contained in reports filed with or furnished to the Commission by the registrant pursuant to section 13 or section 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 that are incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement.

(2) That, for the purpose of determining any liability under the Securities Act of 1933, each such post-effective amendment shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered herein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.

(3) To remove from registration by means of a post-effective amendment any of the securities being registered which remain unsold at the termination of the offering.

(b) The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes that, for purposes of determining any liability under the Securities Act of 1933, each filing of the registrant’s annual report pursuant to Section 13(a) or Section 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (and, where applicable, each filing of an employee benefit plan’s annual report pursuant to Section 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934) that is incorporated by reference in the registration statement shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.

(h) Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act of 1933 may be permitted to directors, officers and controlling persons of the registrant pursuant to the foregoing provisions, or otherwise, the registrant has been advised that in the opinion of the Securities and Exchange Commission such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act of 1933 and is, therefore, unenforceable. In the event that a claim for indemnification against such liabilities (other than the

payment by the registrant of expenses incurred or paid by a director, officer or controlling person of the registrant in the successful defense of any action, suit or proceeding) is asserted by such director, officer or controlling person in connection with the securities being registered, the registrant will, unless in the opinion of its counsel the matter has been settled by controlling precedent, submit to a court of appropriate jurisdiction the question whether such indemnification by it is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act of 1933 and will be governed by the final adjudication of such issue.

SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, the registrant certifies that it has reasonable grounds to believe that it meets all of the requirements for filing on Form S-8 and has duly caused this Registration Statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in the City of Louisville, State of Kentucky, on May 9, 2018.

	Papa John’s International, Inc. (Registrant)


	By:	/s/ Steve M. Ritchie
		Steve M. Ritchie
		President and Chief Executive Officer

POWER OF ATTORNEY

Each person whose signature appears below constitutes and appoints Caroline M. Oyler and Clara M. Passafiume his or her true and lawful attorney-in-fact and agent, each acting alone, with full power of substitution and resubstitution, for him or her and in his or her name, place and stead, in any and all capacities, to sign any or all amendments (including post-effective amendments) to the Registration Statement on Form S-8, and to file the same, with all exhibits thereto, and all documents in connection therewith, with the Securities and Exchange Commission, granting unto said attorney-in-fact and agent, full power and authority to do and perform each and every act and thing requisite and necessary to be done in and about the premises, as fully to all intents and purposes as he or she might or could do in person, hereby ratifying and confirming all that said attorney-in-fact and agent, or his or her substitute or substitutes, may lawfully do or cause to be done by virtue hereof.

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, this registration statement has been signed as of May 9, 2018 by the following persons in the capacities indicated.

Signature		Title


/s/ Steve M. Ritchie		President and Chief Executive Officer (Principal Executive Officer)
Steve M. Ritchie


/s/ Joseph H. Smith, IV		Chief Financial Officer (Principal Financial Officer and Principal Accounting Officer)
Joseph H. Smith, IV


/s/ John H. Schnatter		Founder Chairman
John H. Schnatter


/s/ Christopher L. Coleman		Director
Christopher L. Coleman


/s/ Olivia F. Kirtley		Director
Olivia F. Kirtley


/s/Laurette T. Koellner		Director
Laurette T. Koellner


/s/ Sonya E. Medina		Director
Sonya E. Medina


/s/ Mark S. Shapiro		Director
Mark S. Shapiro