The credit crunch seems to be impacting all types of private equity deals -- even small ones. Just look at the Landry's Restaurants Inc. (NYSE: LNY) transaction. The CEO, Tilman Fertitta, originally agreed to buy the company for $23.50 per share.

But now he's lowering the bid to $21 (for the 61% of the shares he does not own). That puts the deal at about $1.3 billion (when the debt is included). To evaluate the offer, Landry's has setup a special committee of independent directors, as well as retained Cowen and Co. (NASDAQ: COWN) as the financial adviser.

Landry's owns an assortment of brands, such as Landry's Seafood House, Willie G's Seafood & Steak House, and The Crab House. In Q4, the company posted revenues of $280.5 million, which was up from $272 million. However, there was a net loss of $1.9 million.

All in all, this should be a good deal for Fertitta. Over the years, he's demonstrated a good sense for value. And, with the price reduction on the Landry's deal, this looks like it could be a long-term winner for him.

In Friday's trading, Landry's stock spiked 17% to $17.91.

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including The Complete M&A Handbook and The Edgar Online Guide to Decoding Financial Statements. He also operates DealProfiles.com.

Since October, the stock price of Landry's Restaurants (NYSE: LNY) has been falling steadily. But, things changed drastically today; that is, the company's stock spiked 22.68% to $20.45 (although it's still below the $29 it reached a few months ago).

Basically, Landry's CEO, Tilman Fertitta, has put together a deal – valued at $1.3 billion – for a buyout.

The company operates a variety of brands, such as Rainforest Cafe, Saltgrass Steak House, Landry's Seafood House, The Crab House, Charley's Crab, and The Chart House (in all, there are 179 restaurants).

On its face, the deal looks cheap – with a valuation of 6 times EBITDA. Then again, the credit markets are still tight. Besides, Fertitta has lots of leverage because he currently owns 39% of Landry's outstanding shares. In other words, it may not be a good bet that there will be a bidding war on this one.

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including The Complete M&A Handbook. He also operates DealProfiles.com.