Landry's Restaurants, an operator of casual dining seafood restaurants, found that hitting the $1 billion mark in revenues has led to a stronger appeal with lenders. "The market seems really good," noted Paul West, executive v.p. and cfo of Landry's. More banks made a commitment to the $200 million, four-year credit line led by Bank of America and Fleet Bank, than the last bank line, he said. Landry's increased revenues since the last syndication had a big impact, West stated. Second quarter revenues were $300 million, compared to $231.9 million just a year earlier.
West commented on the timing of the refinancing by explaining that the previous $220 million credit line had $86 million outstanding and was set to mature next June. He added that approximately $35 million of notes were also outstanding. In addition to the new bank line, Landry's completed a $150 million senior private placement notes issue with Prudential Capital Group earlier this month. The average term of the notes is approximately eight years, with a weighted average interest rate of 5.95%. The private placement provides a greater diversification of capital structure and longer-term financing, according to a statement from the company.
B of A and Fleet led the previous line and West declined to name the new lenders. But the current syndicate includes SunTrust Bank and Scotia Bank as co-syndication and documentation agents, respectively. Merrill Lynch, UBS, Branch Banking and Trust Company,Guaranty Bank, U.S. Bank, SouthTrust Bank, Bank One, SouthWest Bank of Texas and Costal Banc also participated.