Zale agreed to be acquired by Peoples Jewellers.

The offer by Toronto-based Peoples and its partner, Swarovski International Holding A.G. of Zurich, Switzerland, is valued at $550 million. The Zale board made the recommendation to sell on Sunday, provided that the deal was closed before the end of the year to give shareholders the benefit of current capital gains tax rates. Peoples and Swarovski already own 16% of Zale’s stock.