Billionaire Tilman Fertitta’s restaurant operation, Landry’s Inc., is offering $50 million to buy the Palm steakhouse restaurants and their branding out of a bankruptcy that stems from a bitter family feud, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. The company behind the Palm chain filed court papers on Thursday proposing to name a Landry’s affiliate as the stalking horse-bidder for the Palm enterprise, including the 21 branded steakhouses, trademarks, licensing rights and real estate. The company, Just One More Restaurant Corp., entered chapter 11 protection last year in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Fort Myers, Fla., over a conflict between shareholders descended from the founders of the iconic original Palm. The Landry’s offer requires bankruptcy-court approval and is subject to higher and better bids. If another bidder wins the assets at auction, Landry’s would collect a $1.25 million breakup fee under a set of proposed bidding rules.
