TLDR Tilman Fertitta has reportedly bid roughly $7 billion, or $34 per share, to acquire Caesars Entertainment, topping Carl Icahn’s $33 per share all-cash offer Caesars stock surged nearly 12% on the news to $29.07, following a similar 19% rally in late February when takeover talks first surfaced Caesars carries roughly $11 billion in net debt and over $1.2 billion in annual lease obligations, pushing its enterprise value above $30 billion Fertitta’s ownership of the Houston Rockets and a stake in Wynn Resorts could trigger regulatory hurdles and force changes to Caesars Sportsbook offerings Icahn, who previously held a 15.6% stake in Caesars and helped drive its 2020 sale to Eldorado Resorts, has two board appointees and believes the digital division is undervalued
The battle for Caesars Entertainment is heating up. Billionaire Tilman Fertitta has reportedly submitted a bid of roughly $7 billion to acquire the casino giant, according to The Wall Street Journal.
The offer comes in at about $34 per share. That tops a competing all-cash bid from Carl Icahn’s Icahn Enterprises, which came in at around $33 per share.
Caesars has not officially rejected Icahn’s offer. The Journal cautioned that a deal between Fertitta and Caesars is not imminent and that talks could still fall apart.
The report sent Caesars shares up nearly 12% on Wednesday to $29.07. That gave the company a market value of about $5 billion.
Fertitta’s $34 per share price represents a premium of more than 30% compared to Tuesday’s closing price of $26.01. It is roughly 17% above the post-report price of $29.07.
This is the second major rally for Caesars stock in recent weeks. In late February, shares jumped about 19% after the Financial Times first reported that the company was exploring a possible sale.
Before those reports,