Pizza Express has agreed an initial takeover from a group, which includes one of its founders, Luke Johnson.
The restaurant chain is recommending the offer of 367p per share, which values the company at £263m. Johnson made the offer through Venice Bidder, a new company formed by private equity firm ABN Amro Capital and the independent directors of Pizza Express.
But the news has sparked interest from investment firm TDR Capital and Capricorn Ventures International (CVI), who said they were considering making a higher offer for the chain. Privately-owned investment group, CVI, is the largest investor in the Nando's chicken restaurant chain.