Legal Commentary

Landry's is worth more because of what?

By Tom Kirkendall

Did I read right what Steve Scheinthal, Landry's Seafood Co. general counsel, said in this Chronicle article?:

Landry's is .   .  . facing a handful of shareholder suits seeking class-action status in the wake of CEO Tilman Fertitta's bid to take the company private.

Fertitta made an offer on Jan. 27 to buy out the company at $23.50 for each unowned share. The $1.3 billion deal, including debt, is being reviewed by a special committee of the Landry's board. [.  .  .]

Scheinthal dismissed the shareholder suits as standard in a going-private transaction.

"Absent Mr. Fertitta's offer, the likelihood is that the company's stock would be trading well below the current market price," he said.

Landry's stock closed Friday at $17.73 a share, down 38 cents.

Fertitta's offer for Landry's was made without a financing commitment in a tough credit market. Yet, the company's general counsel is claiming publicly that such a speculative offer is all that is propping up the company's stock price?

I wonder what the boys over at Long or Short Capital will think about that?

Full post as published by Houston's Clear Thinkers on March 02, 2008 (boomark / email).