We haven't followed Buca di Beppo for a while, so it came as asurprise when we saw that Planet Hollywood is buying the 88-restaurantItalian chain for $28.5 million including debt.We knew that Bucawas having some troubled financial times - even before the economystarted going way south - and always figured it was for acombination of reasons, like some bad site selections and high realestate costs for large restaurants. In its most recently-reportedquarter, its Q1, the company lost $4.2 million, and the chain isbeing bought for 45 cents per share, which was a 41% premium overits prior closing price.However, every time we've beento one of its restaurants, or driven by, they have been packed. Butwe admit that this observation is very unscientific because theseinstances are on business trips and at touristy locales thatprobably garner the most traffic.But what in the wide world ofsports do you think Planet Hollywood has in store for the chain? Wesure don't know. Give it your best guess and fire away,readers.

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