The private-equity backed operator of the Houlihan’s Restaurant + Bar chain has filed for bankruptcy protection with a deal in-hand to sell the casual dining chain to fellow restaurant operator Landry’s Inc. for $40 million and assumption of some liabilities, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. Houlihan’s Restaurant Inc. and its affiliates blamed their chapter 11 filing on several factors that have stressed the casual dining sector in recent years including raising lease costs, a tighting labor market and “the rapid growth in costly third-party delivery.” The bankruptcy comes little more than a year after the business acquired more than a dozen Houlihan’s location. Private-equity firm York Capital Management and former president of Applebee’s and TGI Friday’s, Mike Archer, acquired Houlihan’s in 2015. According to court papers filed in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Del., Houlihan’s has $80 million in assets and $76.9 million of liabilities.
If you are considering filing for bankruptcy, contact our law office at 816-524-4949 or visit our website at Hoorfarlaw.com.