Day Star Restaurant Group announced that it has acquired the Texas Land & Cattle and Lone Star Steakhouse restaurant chains from an affiliate of the private equity funds known as Lone Star Funds. The transaction was completed on December 24, 2013.
Day Star is a newly formed corporation jointly owned by Scott Smith, chairman & CEO of Texas Land & Cattle and Lone Star Steakhouse, and Tim Dungan, now president & CFO of both chains.
Smith and Dungan, who were previously the senior executives in charge of the restaurant groups, are one year into a three-year strategic plan designed to refresh the brands, reestablish category leadership and bring them back to their Texas roots.
“Tim and I are obviously strong believers in the growth potential of both brands, which is the biggest reason we moved so aggressively to acquire the company,” says Smith. “It was also important to us to keep both brands rooted in Texas, as it is core to our DNA.”
“This is a great day for both Texas Land & Cattle and Lone Star Steakhouse, because the leadership team is now also the ownership team, and we are 100 percent committed to the success of these outstanding brands,” says Dungan. “Lone Star Funds gave us the latitude to pursue a plan that has already begun paying dividends. Scott and I are convinced that we are on the right path that will ultimately make both brands stars in their categories.”
Texas Land & Cattle currently owns and operates 27 restaurants in Texas, Arkansas, Missouri, New Mexico and North Carolina. Lone Star Steakhouse operates 78 restaurants in 29 states.
