ABOVE: High Roller observation wheel on the Linq Promenade fills the Las Vegas skyline. Other Caesars properties in the photo include (L to R): Paris Las Vegas, Bally’s Las Vegas, Flamingo Las Vegas, Caesars Palace, and Harrah’s Las Vegas. Photo courtesy Caesars Entertainment.
Reno, Nevada-based Eldorado Resorts, which currently owns and operates twenty-six properties in twelve states, has announced its intent to acquire Caesars Entertainment, based in Las Vegas, for $7.2 billion in cash and 77 million common shares of Eldorado Resorts stock. Eldorado will also assume Casears’ outstanding net debt as part of the deal.
“The Row” in Reno, Nevada, comprised of three Eldorado Resorts properties: Eldorado, Silver Legacy, and Circus-Circus Reno. Courtesy Eldorado Resorts.
The acquisition will add 34 casinos and resorts, including Caesars Palace, The Linq, Planet Hollywood, Bally’s Las Vegas, Paris Las Vegas, Harrah’s Las Vegas, and Flamingo Las Vegas, all located along the iconic Las Vegas Strip.
The combined company, which will operate under the Caesars name, will be based out of Reno and will maintain a strong corporate presence in Las Vegas. It will be led by Eldorado Chairman Gary Carano and CEO Tom Reeg, along with Eldorado’s current COO, CFO, and CLO.
In a related transaction, the real estate associated with Harrah’s resorts in Atlantic City, Laughlin, and New Orleans will be sold to VICI Properties, a REIT spun off from Caesars Entertainment in 2017, for $1.8 billion. The properties will be leased back to the newly combined Eldorado-Caesars for an initial annual fee of $154 million.
Caesars Palace Las Vegas. Courtesy Caesars Entertainment.
According to Eldorado CEO Tom Reeg: “Eldorado’s combination with Caesars will create the largest owner and operator of U.S. gaming assets and is a strategically, financially and operationally compelling opportunity that brings immediate and long-term value to stakeholders of both companies. Together, we will have an extremely powerful suite of iconic gaming and entertainment brands, as well as valuable strategic alliances with industry leaders in sports betting and online gaming. The combined entity will serve customers in essentially every major U.S. gaming market and will marry best-of-breed practices from both entities to ensure high levels of customer satisfaction and significant shareholder returns.
“As with our past transactions, we have a detailed plan for significant synergy realization. Relative to our prior acquisitions, the combination with Caesars presents attractive incremental revenue synergy opportunities as we plan to strengthen Caesars Rewards, the industry’s leading player loyalty and CMS database, and combine it with Eldorado’s to market to over 65 million rewards customers nationally. We could not be more excited about the future as we bring together two industry leaders that will generate significant opportunities for our employees, customers, partners and shareholders.”