Landry’s Restaurants on Wednesday announced it appointed a special committee to explore a sale and other strategic alternatives.
In a letter on Friday, Tilman Fertitta, Landry’s chairman, president and CEO, asked the committee to formalize negotiations to acquire the Houston-based restaurant and hospitality company outright and spin off one of its brands, Saltgrass Steak House. Fertitta, who already owns 39 percent of Landry’s, has been bidding to privatize the company since early this year.
The committee, which retained Moelis & Co. to serve as its financial advisor, pledged on Wednesday to review strategic alternatives before it decides on Fertitta’s offer; it has not set a timetable.
Landry’s, which went public in 1993, operates several restaurant chains, including Landry’s Seafood House, Charley’s Crab and The Chart House, and the Golden Nugget Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas and Laughlin, Nev.
