PizzaExpress owner Gondala Holdings has agreed to a takeover by private equity firm Cinven that values the company at £559m as appetite for restaurants among private equity groups grows.
The group, which owns Ask and Zizzi brands among its 520-odd pizza and pasta restaurants, opened its books to Cinven last month following a 415p-a-share bid approach that takes the company private less than a year after it floated.
References: Financial Times 07/10/06 page 20, Daily Telegraph 07/10/06 page 29, The Times 07/10/06 page 56
