Carluccio's agrees to £90.3m takeover offer from Landmark

Italian restaurant chain Carluccio's has agreed to a £90.3m takeover offer from Middle Eastern retail and leisure giant Landmark.

Dubai-based Landmark, which holds the franchise for Carluccio's in the Middle East and owns 5.1% of the group's shares, has offered 142p in cash per share. It said it has irrevocable undertakings or letters of intent from shareholders accounting for 36.5%.

However, the offer has not yet been approved by the rest of Carluccio's shareholders including restaurant entrepreneur Richard Caring, its biggest shareholder, who owns around 12%. Caring, who owns Caprice Holdings, has declined to comment on whether he would support Landmark's offer, leaving the door open for a rival bidder, according to analysts.

Carluccio's chief executive Simon Kossoff told Caterersearch that Landmark's offer represented an attractive premise against a tough macroeconomic background.

"The company is in a good position to deliver growth but this offer should be recommended to shareholders," he said.

If the takeover is successful, Landmark plans to keep on Carluccio's management team, including Kossoff and chairman Stephen Gee.

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By Kerstin Kühn

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