Carl Icahn has upped his stake in Caesars to become the Las Vegas casino operator’s Biggest shareholder; sale seems likelier by the day
Entities associated with Carl Icahn bought earlier this week 38.9 million shares of Caesars Entertainment Corp.. To generate the New York billionaire investor the biggest shareholder of the casino giant.
Mr. Icahn said Friday in a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission that he owns 15.53% in firm stock, up from the almost 10% bet he had gathered over the past couple of months.
News concerning the 83-year-old businessman upping his holding at the Las Vegas hospitality and gaming powerhouse came on the heels of a week’s announcement that Caesars has agreed to give Mr. Icahn plank representation. Keith Cozza, CEO of Icahn Enterprises, James Nelson, and Courtney Mather were appointed by the activist investor as the new members of Caesars’ 12-person Board of Directors, replacing a trio of former members.
Both companies have sold almost 36.7 million shares of Caesars, according to a Friday regulatory filing. Their holding firm, Hamlet Holdings, now owns about 5.7% of the casino owner’s inventory.
Apollo and TPG obtained Caesars in a leveraged buyout in 2008. The bargain ballooned the company’s debt to more than $25 billion. Caesars saw no other escape route except to place its main operating unit into a Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2015. The casino operator emerged from bankruptcy in the fall of 2017 and was looking to guarantee investors that its chances are favorable.
Icahn Bets on Sale
Mr. Icahn was pressing Caesars to market itself merge with another thing since news that he has gathered a stake in the business first surfaced earlier this past year. In a statement announcing the appointment of the three new board members named by him, the president said last week that he still believed “the best path forward for Caesars necessitates a strategic process to sell or merge the firm.
The billionaire investor went on that the transfer would help the casino operator to “further develop its already strong regional presence.
Mr. Icahn has a long record of pressuring a variety of companies into selling themselves, and now as he is Caesars’ biggest shareholder, a sale of the business seems likelier from the day. It became known last fall that Texas businessman Tilman Fertitta had approached Caesars with an offer to unite it with his hospitality and casino empire Landry’therefore, the owner of the Golden Nugget series of casinos.
Caesars declined offering, but news emerged that Mr. Fertitta has gained a stake in the organization and is interested in blending his enterprise with that of its much larger rival. It’s unknown whether Mr. Icahn would bless a union between Golden Nugget and Caesars.
The activist investor needs to obtain a gaming license in Nevada since his holding at the hospitality and gaming powerhouse exceeds the 10% ownership threshold. It’s yet unknown when the businessman will look before gaming regulators, but given his prior experience in possessing casinos in Las Vegas, he is unlikely to hit roadblocks during the licensing procedure.
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