Eldorado Resorts buys Caesars Entertainment in $17.3bn deal

Eldorado Resorts, Inc. has completed its acquisition of Caesars Entertainment Corporation, with the new merged company taking the Caesars Entertainment name. The US417.3bn transaction creates the largest casino and entertainment company in the US. The deal was first mooted back in June 2019 and it has been a long road to gain regulatory approval. The combined company owns and operates more than 55 casino properties worldwide, most with significant conference and meetings facilities, including eight casino hotel properties on the Las Vegas Strip. Caesars is now larger than MGM and has properties in the UK, Egypt, Canada, Dubai and in the Chinese gambling enclave of Macau. “We are pleased to have completed this transformative merger, thus making us the premier leader in gaming and hospitality. We look forward to executing on the numerous opportunities ahead to create value for all stakeholders,” said Tom Reeg, CEO of Caesars Entertainment, Inc. Analysts say the deal was split between $7.2bn in cash and 77 million shares of Eldorado stock. The merged company will also assume Caesars’ approximately $8.8bn in debt. The company will probably sell some properties to satisfy antitrust concerns raised by the Federal Trade Commission and regulators before they allowed the deal to pass. At least one Las Vegas Strip property is likely to be sold. In Atlantic City the company is putting Bally’s Atlantic City up for sale to leave Caesars Entertainment with three of the Atlantic City’s nine casinos. Other disposals across the US are planned to satisfy regulators. Carl Icahn will be the largest single shareholder of the combined company, with more than 10% of its stock. Caesars Entertainment employed 65,000 staff before the coronavirus pandemic hit, including 30,000 in Nevada. Most properties have now reopened.