Fertitta seals a fourth ‘blank check’ deal
Houston mogul says he and partner Jefferies Financial will be ‘aggressive in the M&A world’
In what may be a signal that he believes an economic recovery is close at hand, Tilman Fertitta has partnered for the fourth time with New York investment bank Jefferies Financial Group Inc. to form a
“blank check” company to seek an acquisition or merger.
The partners on Thursday morning announced the offering of 50 million units of Landcadia Holdings IV, which was listed on the Nasdaq market at $10 a share.
No target company has been identified, the company said in a
registration statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 17. “While we may pursue an initial business combination target in any industry, we intend to focus our search on investment opportunities in the consumer, dining, hospitality, entertainment and gaming industries, including technology companies operating in these industries,” it said.
The offering is Fertitta’s fourth blank check deal in as many months. He and Jefferies have partnered on each of the Landcadia blank check companies.
In December, his Golden Nugget
Online Gaming business merged with Landcadia Holdings II; in January, Landcadia Holdings III agreed to merge with HMAN Group Holdings Inc., parent company of Hillman Group Inc., a Cincinnatibased hardware and home improvement distribution business. In February he said he would merge his Landry’s Inc. and Golden Nugget Casinos with New York special purpose acquisition com
pany FAST Acquisition in a deal that valued the enterprises at $6.6 billion.
When the combination with FAST was announced, Fertitta said the deal would provide capital to pursue more gaming and hospitality deals.
“We’re looking to do
some substantial (mergers and acquisitions) in gaming,” he said. “We want to be aggressive in the M&A world.”
In a January interview with the Chronicle, Fertitta called the Payroll Protection Program, designed to help businesses survive the downturn that came with the pandemic, “a disaster” that would force smaller businesses to shed assets or
close altogether. That, he said, would create buying opportunities for well-capitalized buyers like him.
“It’s a shame that the strong survive and these become opportunistic times,” he said at the time. “The strong are going to get stronger.”
Richard Handler, chairman and CEO of Jefferies, is the new venture’s co-chairman and president. Fertitta
serves as co-chairman and CEO.
Shares of Landcadia Holdings IV closed at $9.87 on Thursday.
The decline in the unit price came as reports emerged at that the SEC was conducting a fact-finding inquiry into the blank check market.
In the first quarter alone, the market for SPACs is on pace to surpass the 248 created
in 2020, and Bloomberg reported that the SEC inquiry followed concerns that the frenzy could end badly for investors. While banks have been pushing SPAC deals for months, one impact of the regulator’s move could be a chilling effect that prompts firms to slow the volume of offerings.