La Pizza Loca Makes Bid for Chicago Pizza

La Pizza Loca Inc., a closely held Buena Park-based pizza restaurant chain, offered $2 cash for each common share of Chicago Pizza & Brewery Inc. that it doesn’t already own and isn’t held by top executives of Chicago Pizza. The offer values Chicago Pizza, operator of BJ’s Pizza & Grill restaurants, at about $12.8 million, a 19% premium over its most recent share price, with 6.4 million shares outstanding. Its shares were at $1.69 before trading was halted on Nasdaq after word of the buyout offer. Alex Meruelo, chief executive and owner of 95% of La Pizza Loca, holds a 7.4% stake in Mission Viejo-based Chicago Pizza, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing.