• 4 December 2020

Tilman Fertitta hasn’t made any official announcement but sources close to the Houston billionaire say that he is seriously considering taking Golden Nugget casinos and his chain of restaurants under the Landry’s brand public. The sources close to Tilman Fertitta have preferred to remain anonymous for now.

Fertitta Will Retain More Than 50 Percent Ownership

Fertitta is also the owner of the Houston Rockets franchise which he acquired for $2.2 billion in 2017. Sources claim that Fertitta will be very selective with which companies he decided to take public. The Houston Rockets will not be part of the IPO. As of now it will include all 5 Golden Nugget casinos and a string of restaurants.

The five Golden Nugget casinos are located in multiple states. Fertitta has two Golden Nugget casinos in Nevada and one each in Atlantic City, New Jersey, Lake Charles, Louisiana and Biloxi, Mississippi. Some of the restaurant brands under Landry’s that are expected to be part of the IPO include Seafood House, Bubba Gump, Joe’ Crab Shack, Mastro’s Restaurants and Morton’s.

Fertitta is thinking about taking these companies public given the current state of the equity markets in the country. He will make less than 50 percent of this company public as he wants to retain a 51 percent stake and more in the public limited company as he wants to retain controlling interests.

COVID-19 Forces Fertitta To Raise Funds

America holds the first spot when it comes to countries with the most number of COVID-19 cases. Multiple industries have been devastated by the coronavirus and the lockdown that followed. The worst hit businesses have been the airlines, hotels, restaurants and casinos.

Fertitta has a net worth of over $4.4 billion and the casino and restaurant business is responsible for a lot of his success. However, his casino empire and his restaurant chain has been devastated in 2020 and has suffered millions of dollars in losses. Fertitta was forced to borrow millions of dollars each month and pay double digit interest rates to keep his empire standing.

Tillman Fertitta let go of 45,000 employees at the start of the pandemic and received criticism when he did this. However, he said at that time it was still a positive thing for these 45,000 employees as they received a severance package and would be able to stand first in the unemployment line.

The new company that Fertitta could put together for the IPO is likely to be worth billions and could generate sufficient funds for him to significantly reduce his debt.