Chanticleer Holdings signs agreement to buy Texas restaurant

Charlotte-based Chanticleer Holdings said Thursday it has signed an agreement to buy a Texas seafood restaurant that would join a fast growing list of companies Chanticleer has acquired this year.

Chanticleer said it expects the deal to buy Spoon Bar & Kitchen, in Dallas, to close by Dec. 31. The deal needs approval from Chanticleer's board and still has to be reviewed by Nasdaq and Securities and Exchange Commission officials, Chanticleer said in a regulatory filing.

The deal calls for Chanticleer to purchase Spoon Bar & Kitchen's outstanding shares by issuing 195,000 Chanticleer shares to Dallas Spoon and Dallas Spoon Beverage, the companies that own and operate the restaurant. The deal also gives Dallas Spoon the right to buy 97,500 additional Chanticleer shares at $5.50 and 97,500 at $7.

It's unclear how much the deal will be worth, since it will depend on the value of Chanticleer's share price at the time the deal closes. Using Monday's closing price of $5.18 puts the deal at $2.2 million.

Chanticleer described Spoon Bar & Kitchen as a fine dining restaurant. Its chef is John Tesar.

Chanticleer CEO Mike Pruitt said in a statement that the deal creates an opportunity for Chanticleer and Tesar "to expand the Spoon brand into a new, fast-casual dining concept.”

The deal marks yet another new venture for Chanticleer, which until this year had been focused solely on owning and operating Hooters restaurants outside the U.S. Its Hooters are in Australia, Hungary, South Africa and the U.K. Chanticleer said Wednesday it has signed an agreement that expands the number of Hooters it and a partner can open in Brazil.

This year, Chanticleer bought Charlotte-based American Roadside Burgers. Last month, it said it has acquired a majority stake in the companies that own the Charlotte-based Just Fresh restaurant chain.

Earlier this week, Chanticleer said it has become an investor in Beacher’s Madhouse, a nightclub operator with a location in Los Angeles and one set to open in Las Vegas.

Last month, Chanticleer said it had raised $800,000 in a private offering of shares.

Chanticleer shares rose 4.2 percent Thursday.