Landry's Restaurants Chairman, President and CEO Tilman Fertitta has reduced his buyout offer to $21 a share. Fertitta, who owns 39 percent of the Houston company and is trying to take it private, submitted a bid of $23.50 a share in late January.
In a letter to Landry's, Fertitta said the credit market has deteriorated since his initial offer more than two months ago, making it much more expensive to obtain the debt financing required for the transaction, which is valued at about $1.3 billion.
Late last week, Landry's hired Cowen and Co., a New York equity research firm, to help a special committee of its board of directors explore the possibility of a sale.
Landry's operates several restaurant chains nationwide, including Landry's Seafood House and Chart House, and the Golden Nugget Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas and Laughlin, Nev.
