The "unusual series of transactions" between Zapata Corp.
and other companies in which Bucs Owner Malcolm Glazer and his
family also hold "big stakes" is examined by Gail DeGeorge of
BUSINESS WEEK. In June, Zapata, a Houston-based oil and gas
company, agreed to pay $80M to acquire Houlihan's Restaurant
Group, of which Glazer holds 73% ownership. However, separate
shareholder suits have alleged that Glazer is using Zapata to buy
out his other interests and help finance his $192M purchase of
the Bucs in '95. Zapata Chair and Glazer's oldest son Avram,
"insists" there is no tie between the deals and that for
"strategic" reasons, the family is attempting to transform Zapata
into a food services company. BUSINESS WEEK's DeGeorge: "The
Glazers give no explanation of why Zapata's abrupt shift in
strategy occurred just as Glazer was buying the Bucs."
Houlihan's CEO Frederick Hipp says he and his staff "have felt no
pressure to do things to benefit the Glazers solely." However,
Robert Martorelli, Manager of Merrill Lynch & Co.'s Phoenix Fund,
which holds 11.5% of Houlihan's, questions the renaming of Tampa
Stadium as Houlihan's Stadium when Houlihan's has only two
outlets in FL and none in the Tampa area. DeGeorge also notes
that according to Zapata's SEC filings, it "may next" buy
Glazer's 45% stake in Specialty Equipment Cos., a supplier of
milkshake and other machines to McDonald's Corp (BUSINESS WEEK,
10/7).
