Joe's Crabs Venture Into The Rainforest

Landry's Seafood Restaurants Inc. (Houston), the owner of such chain eateries as Joe's Crab Shack, Willie G's Oyster Bar, Landry's Seafood House and The Crab House, has reached an agreement to acquire the remaining shares of Rainforest CafŽ Inc. (Minneapolis). The specialty themed restaurant/retailer with the indoor thunderstorm and chattering macaws burst on the scene about six years ago with a successful venue in The Mall of America, and soon had opened more than 40 locations in the U.S., the U.K., Canada, France, Mexico, Japan, Singapore and Hong Kong. Its stock, once has high as more than $25 per share, had dropped to a little over $2 a share yesterday. It was a victim of the dropping interest in high-concept themed restaurant venues that had also claimed Planet Hollywood and All-Star CafŽ, among others. Landry's, which already owned a 4.5 percent stake in Rainforest, would offer $3.25 a share for the rest, a deal worth about $75 million in cash.