Gondola Holdings set to return to private hands under Cinven
Pizza Express owner Gondola Holdings is set to return to private hands less than a year after floating on the Alternative Investment Market.
Paternoster Acquisitions, a bid vehicle formed by private equity Cinven, announced today that it was about to make a 415p per share cash offer for the group, which would value it at around £560m.
Gondola is 48% owned by private equity firms TDR Capital and Capricorn Ventures, which have agreed to sell at least 25.1% of their share holding to Cinven.
Fidelity, Gondola's largest institutional investor, holds 10%.
Post-flotation last November, TDR and Capricorn reduced their combined stake from around 80%.
Gondola also owns the Zizzi and Ask chains.
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By Chris Druce
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