ORLANDO, FLA. — Orlando-based Italian dining chain Buca di Beppo has voluntarily filed for bankruptcy under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. USA Today reports that the restaurant chain claimed it owed 30 separate creditors approximately $50 million at the time of filing. The restructuring will involve 44 core restaurants, as well as a new store currently being opened. According to a press release issued by the company, it is “committed to ensuring that the restaurants operate as usual.” Gray Reed & McGraw LLP is serving as legal advisor to the company, and CR3 Partners LLC is acting as financial advisor, as well as providing corporate leadership as the chief restructuring officer. Stout Capital is acting as investment banker on behalf of the brand. “By restructuring with the continued support of our lenders, we are paving the way toward a reinvigorated future,” says Rich Saultz, president of Buca di Beppo.
HOUSTON — Chevron Corp. (NYSE: CVX) will relocate its headquarters from San Ramon, a suburb of San Francisco, to Houston. The oil-and-gas giant, which already employs about 7,000 people in the Houston area, intends to relocate certain executives, including chairman and CEO Mike Wirth, to the Bayou City before the end of the year. Chevron’s existing office footprint in Houston includes multiple spaces in the downtown area and a presence in the Westchase District. The company also purchased 77 acres within the Bridgeland master-planned community in the northwestern suburb of Cypress last year with plans to construct a research-and-development campus.
CHICAGO — During a conference call held yesterday, executives of Equity Commonwealth (NYSE: EQC) announced that the Chicago-based office REIT is going to wind down its operations and liquidate its four remaining office assets. David Helfand, president and CEO of Equity Commonwealth, cited “uniquely challenging market conditions” as the impetus behind the move as the company was previously pursuing a major acquisition that ultimately wasn’t executed. “After working through our pipeline, we have been unable to consummate a compelling transaction,” said Helfand, who noted that the firm had also been trying to sell three of its remaining office properties as discussed in the first-quarter earnings call. “As a result, our board of trustees has determined that it’s advisable and in the best interest of our shareholders to proceed with the wind down of our operations and the liquidation of our assets in order to maximize value for shareholders.” Equity Commonwealth was founded in 1986 by Barry Portnoy under the name CommonWealth REIT. In 2014, the late REIT champion and billionaire investor Sam Zell took over operations of the company alongside a new board of directors, including Helfand. The REIT was rebranded to Equity Commonwealth and began trading on the New …
THE WOODLANDS, TEXAS — Conn’s HomePlus, a home furnishing retailer based in the Houston area, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and will close at least 70 stores nationwide, according to reports from multiple media outlets including CNN and USA Today. The latter publication reports that Conn’s filed for bankruptcy protection this past Tuesday in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas amid slumping revenue reports and that the impacted stores are scattered across 13 states. Both news organizations report that the state with the highest concentration of closures is Florida (18), followed by Texas (nine). Conn’s was founded in 1890 and operates about 150 stores across the country, according to the company’s Wikipedia page.
ROUND ROCK AND TAYLOR, TEXAS — iMarket America, a supplier of industrial raw materials and products, will relocate its U.S. headquarters to the northern Austin suburb of Round Rock, according to a release from the Round Rock Chamber. iMarket America, whose parent company is based in South Korea, is a major vendor of Korean electronics giant Samsung, which is developing a $17 billion semiconductor manufacturing facility in Taylor, another northern suburb of Austin. To facilitate that relationship, iMarket America has proposed a plan to develop a 212-acre campus that would be located northeast of the intersection of Carlos G. Parker Boulevard SE and FM 112 near the Samsung plant. According to the Austin Business Journal, the development would feature about 2.2 million square feet of warehousing, manufacturing, office and research-and-development space. The publication also reports that iMarket America purchased the land after signing a nonbinding memorandum of understanding with the City of Taylor in 2023. Samsung broke ground on its Taylor facility in 2022 and expects to be operational this year.
AUSTIN, TEXAS AND ORLANDO, FLA. — Darden Restaurants (NYSE: DRI) has agreed to acquire Chuy’s Holdings (NASDAQ: CHUY) for $605 million in an all-cash transaction. The Tex-Mex restaurant chain — which owns and operates 101 full-service restaurants across 15 states — will join Darden’s existing restaurant portfolio, which includes Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse and Ruth’s Chris Steak House, among others. Under terms of the merger agreement, Orlando-based Darden will acquire all outstanding shares of Chuy’s at $37.50 per share. The purchase price represents a 40 percent premium to the Austin-based company’s 60-day volume weighted price. Chuy’s board of directors unanimously approved the merger agreement, which includes a 30-day “go-shop” period that will allow the company to solicit alternative proposals from interested parties. The transaction is expected to close during the second quarter of 2025, subject to a number of closing conditions, including approval by a majority of Chuy’s stockholders. Darden acquired Ruth’s Chris in summer 2023 for $715 million. The company’s portfolio of restaurant brands also includes Yard House, Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen, The Capital Grille, Seasons 52, Eddie V’s and Bahama Breeze. Darden’s stock price closed at $147.35 per share on Thursday, July 17, down from $163.31 one year ago. …
BROWNSVILLE AND AUSTIN, TEXAS — Elon Musk will move the headquarters of his rocket and spacecraft manufacturing company, SpaceX, from California to Texas. The billionaire entrepreneur and Tesla CEO made the announcement earlier this week in a post to social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, which Musk also owns and intends to relocate to Texas. According to CBS News, Musk said that SpaceX would move from the Los Angeles-area community of Hawthorne to its Starbase facility in Brownsville and that X would move from San Francisco to Austin. Musk cited multiple political policies in California as the impetus behind his decision, which follows the relocation of the headquarters of Tesla (NYSE: TSLA) from Silicon Valley to Austin a couple years ago. Timelines for the moves were not disclosed.
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Stop & Shop to Close 32 Stores in the Northeast
QUINCY, MASS. — Stop & Shop, a grocery store chain based in the Boston suburb of Quincy, has announced plans to close 32 locations by the end of this year. Situated throughout the Northeast, the stores — described in a press release as “underperforming” — are located in Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York and Rhode Island. According to the grocer, the affected stores will shutter on or before Nov. 2. Associates at the locations will be offered other employment within the company. “As we announced in May, Stop & Shop has evaluated its overall store portfolio and made the difficult decision to close underperforming stores to create a healthy base for the future growth of our brand,” says Gordon Reid, president of Stop & Shop. The company has remodeled 190 stores since 2018, and Reid notes that the remodeled stores are performing better than the stores selected for closure. Accordingly, Stop & Shop plans to focus on “growth through price investments and store remodels.” Following the closures, Stop & Shop’s portfolio will comprise more than 350 stores across five states, with 81 stores in Connecticut, 115 in Massachusetts, 47 in New Jersey, 91 in New York and 25 in …
DALLAS — Dallas-headquartered SRS Real Estate Partners has named Garrett Colburn as president, responsible for the company’s continued national growth, including office productivity and culture. Colburn will partner with CEO Chris Maguire to generate growth across all platforms, including retail, capital markets and industrial. Additionally, Colburn will serve on SRS’ Executive Committee, the group responsible for setting overall strategy for the firm throughout the United States and globally. Colburn currently serves as managing principal and co-market leader of SRS’ five California offices and will continue both roles in addition to his new responsibilities. He joined the company in 2012 to grow the Southern California office and has served on the SRS Board of Directors since 2016.
NEW YORK CITY AND DALLAS — HBC, the New York City-based parent company of Saks Fifth Avenue, has agreed to acquire Dallas-based Neiman Marcus Group. The merger between the two luxury fashion retailers is valued at $2.6 billion. An estimated closing date was not released. Following the acquisition, HBC will establish Saks Global, an entity that will combine the intellectual property and real estate assets of the two companies. Brands that are already owned by HBC or Neiman Marcus, including Saks OFF 5th, Bergdorf Goodman and Last Call Outlet, will continue operations under their original names. HBC will fund the purchase through a combination of equity from new and existing shareholders. Notably, both Amazon and Salesforce will be shareholders in the new company upon closing, with the Seattle-based e-commerce giant also expected to take on a consultative role. According to CNN, the two companies have been discussing a merger for several years. The Atlanta-based news network also reports that Saks currently operates 39 stores, while Neiman Marcus, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2020, operates 36 stores. “For years, many in the industry have anticipated this transaction and the benefits it would drive for customers, partners and employees,” says …