Prolific Houston restaurateur could save Luby's with aggressive new move

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Tuesday, September 22, 2020
Luby's is selling its restaurants and assets
This is what we know so far about why the Luby's cafeteria chain announced restaurant closures.

HOUSTON, Texas -- When Luby's announced a plan of "liquidation and dissolution," the cafeteria chain's long-term prospects for survival seemed pretty dim, but a faint flicker of hope remains. In a document filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the company revealed it has entered into a confidential agreement with Luby's CEO Chris Pappas that could lead to his acquiring the company.

READ MORE: Fuddruckers and Luby's owners plan for closures

The document explicitly states that Pappas has only been granted access to financial information for the purpose of potentially making an offer for some portion of the company's assets. Pappas has not made an offer, and, even when he does, the company is not obligated to accept it. (The Houston Chronicle was first to report on the details of the SEC filing.)

Still, Pappas is one of the company's major shareholders, holding 18.43% of the company's shares. His brother, Harris Pappas, owns an additional 17.86% of the company's shares, per the filing. Their holdings include approximately one million shares owned by Pappas Restaurant, the Houston-based restaurant juggernaut they own together.

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