Tilman Fertitta of Landry's Restaurants has acquired a 9 percent stake in competitor McCormick & Schmick's Seafood Restaurants, according to a document filed Thursday with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
The chairman, president and CEO of the Houston-based restaurant company purchased more than 1.3 million shares for about USD 3.5 million (EUR 2.7 million), making him by far the largest individual shareholder of Portland, Ore.-based McCormick & Schmick's. Co-founder Doug Schmick is the second-largest individual shareholder with 131,252 shares. Fertitta owns 56.7 percent of Landry's.
Both McCormick & Schmick's and Landry's are struggling to maintain restaurant traffic amid the recession, as consumers dine out less frequently and spend less money when they do.
On Monday, McCormick & Schmick's posted a fourth-quarter net loss of USD 73.4 million (EUR 58 million), compared to a loss of USD 1 million (EUR 791,384) during the same period in 2007. Same-restaurant sales dropped 13.5 percent in the fourth quarter and 7.5 percent in 2008. However, 2008 revenues reached USD 390 million (EUR 309 million), up 8.9 percent from the previous year.
McCormick & Schmick's has scaled back its expansion plans in 2008, limiting new restaurants to the two already open in St. Louis and Roseville, Calif.
Meanwhile, Landry's reported 2008 revenues of about USD 1.1 billion (EUR 853.8 million) - USD 891 million for its restaurant group and USD 253 million for its gaming operation, the Golden Nugget Hotel-Casinos in Nevada - compared to nearly USD 1.2 billion (EUR 931.4 million) in 2007. However, same-restaurant sales slipped about 2 percent last year.
Landry's chains include Landry's Seafood House, Chart House Restaurant, Charley's Crab, Saltgrass Steak House, Rainforest Café and Cadillac Bar.
March 12, 2009
