Also last week, Panera Bread (PNRA) announced it was going to be acquired by JAB Holding Co. for $7.5 billion. JAB paid 19x EV/EBITDA, 32x EV/EBIT, and 49x earnings. Wow! I suppose these sort of valuations can make sense for a business growing rapidly. However, based on Panera's slowing revenue and earnings growth over the past three years, its concept appears to have matured considerably.