Landry’s Restaurants gets OK to buy Eva Longoria’s bankrupt Beso

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Eva Longoria

Actress Eva Longoria received the kiss of approval Monday for the sale of her bankrupt Beso restaurant in Las Vegas.

Bankruptcy Judge Mike Nakagawa in Las Vegas approved a contested proposal by Landry’s Restaurants Inc. of Houston to buy the restaurant’s assets for $1 million.

Longoria will hold a 30 percent stake in an entity that will use the restaurant and Landry’s is indemnifying Longoria, within limits, against lawsuits filed by disgruntled investors.

Some of the investors had opposed the Beso sales transaction, saying it appeared to be a sweetheart deal for Longoria – even though she may lose her $1.375 million investment in the business.

The dissident investors also charged they had no opportunity to buy the restaurant and its closed Eve nightclub since its landlord – the high-end Crystals shopping center – made it clear it would only deal with a new owner if Longoria was involved.

Crystals is part of MGM Resorts International’s CityCenter development on the Las Vegas Strip.

After a hearing last week, Nakagawa issued an order Monday siding with attorneys for the Longoria-led company Beso LLC in approving the transaction.

The judge’s order noted Crystals’ control of the bankruptcy – it could have evicted Beso months ago but chose not to.

Beso has said in court papers it was preparing to shut down because it was running out of cash before Landry's stepped in and took over management in August.

These factors mean 50-60 employees have kept their jobs and some creditors are getting paid.

"Preservation of employment and payment of creditors are two policies intended to be advanced by the reorganization process, in addition to protection of the interests of equity security holders," Nakagawa wrote in his ruling.

Under the deal, Crystals will receive $300,000 – a pittance compared to Beso’s past-due rent of $3.75 million.

The Nevada Department of Taxation will receive another $491,000 for unpaid sales taxes. Failure to pay those taxes could have subjected Beso’s investors to liability for them.

Provisions in the sales agreement will protect investors by preserving their right to sue officers and directors over the financial collapse of the business, Nakagawa noted.

Attorneys say the deal should help Beso rebound as Landry’s is a skilled restaurant operator with pricing power with vendors – and the transaction keeps Longoria and her star power in the picture.

Landry’s, with chains like the Rainforest Café and Claim Jumper, also owns the Golden Nugget casinos in Las Vegas, Laughlin and Atlantic City.

Beso opened in late 2009 and produced what observers called strong gross revenue in 2010 – nearly $14.6 million.

Its bankruptcy filing revealed that millions of dollars in debt to contractors and other creditors had gone unpaid amid management turmoil and charges of wrongdoing pitting Longoria and an investor allied with her, Jonas Lowrance; against three other investors.

In all, Beso listed $5.68 million in debt in its Jan. 6 bankruptcy filing.

Since the bankruptcy filing and through August, the business reported losing $1 million on revenue of $6.1 million.

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