Oct. 18–Over more than three decades, Tilman Fertitta has taken his Houston restaurant, hospitality and entertainment empire from a private company to a public one, and then private again. Now, the head of Landry's could again find himself at the helm of a much larger publicly-traded company if a deal to combine with Caesars Entertainment Corp. is successful.
Fertitta recently approached Caesars about a possible merging his Golden Nugget and restaurant properties with the Las Vegas, sources familiar with the proposal said this week.
But aside from the casinos — Fertitta owns five Golden Nugget properties — it is unclear which restaurants would be included in the deal and if any of his hotels or entertainment venues would be part of the merger.
A analyst note from the Atlanta investment banak SunTrust Robinson Humphries cited the deal's limited details, but noted that roughly 60 percent of Fertitta's earnings come from its restaurants. It said such a combination "has not been widely tested in public markets."
"While we don't doubt a smart and successful operator like Mr. Fertitta in his ability to successfully run (Caesars), we note he would be transitioning from leading his wholly owned private gaming/restaurant business to a much larger gaming enterprise with various stakeholders," according to the report, which noted Caesar's "diverse and sometimes vocal equity ownership base."
Fertitta, now president, chairman and CEO of Landry's Inc., built a business on casual seafood restaurants, which he then parlayed into a company with massive real estate holdings and retail establishments. Landry's, Inc. owns and operates more than 600 dining, hospitality, entertainment and gaming properties.
Its vast array of restaurant chains include Bubba Gump Shrimp Co., Morton's The Steakhouse, Landry's Seafood, McCormick & Schmick's, Mastro's Restaurants and Rainforest Caf?. Affiliated entities own and operate five Golden Nugget Hotel and Casinos and numerous hotel and entertainment developments.
After taking over Landry's in the 1980s, Fertitta took the public in 1993. In the following years, the company acquired dozens of restaurants and completed the development of the Kemah Boardwalk, a 35-acre restaurant and entertainment destination on the edge of Galveston Bay. Other projects include the San Luis Resort, the Galveston Island Convention Center, a Galveston Hilton and a Holiday Inn, and the downtown Houston Aquarium.
Landry's purchased the Golden Nugget Hotel and Casino in downtown Las Vegas in 2005. The acquisition included a casino in Laughlin, Nev., and the company has since opened three additional Golden Nugget locations: Atlantic City, Biloxi. Miss. and Lake Charles, La. Each Golden Nugget houses multiple Landry's restaurant brands.
In 2010, Fertitta took Landry's private by purchasing all of its outstanding stock, gaining sole ownership of the company.
His most recent developments include the Historic Pleasure Pier, a theme park built over the water off Galveston Island, and a high-end hospitality complex next to the Landry's corporate headquarters on the West Loop near Post Oak Boulevard. The project includes several restaurants, including the first Mastro's in Texas, a $350 million hotel and high-end conference center.
nancy.sarnoff@chron.com
twitter.com/nsarnoff
Katherine Blunt contributed.
