Carl Icahn is placing his chips on a sale of Caesars Entertainment Corp.
The billionaire shareholder activist owns roughly 10% of Caesars CZR, +0.00% and plans to push the casino operator to consider selling itself after it received at least two approaches, according to people familiar with the matter.
An Eldorado Resorts Inc. ERI, -0.38% official in the past several months made a preliminary approach to Caesars about a deal but the talks didn’t go anywhere, the people said. Hospitality-and-gambling company Golden Nugget LLC proposed a separate combination last year, which Caesars rejected.
Caesars is one of the largest gambling companies, with around 50 casinos in 13 states and five countries. Its properties include Caesars Palace, Harrah’s and others on the sought-after Las Vegas Strip. The company, whose operating unit filed for bankruptcy in 2015, has a market value of more than $6 billion and about $9 billion in long-term debt. Icahn believes that Caesars has desirable properties and that the outlook for Las Vegas is positive, the people familiar with his plans said. He believes the company would be better managed in the hands of a rival and wants Caesars to let shareholders decide if it should be sold, rather than leave it up to the board.
An expanded version of this report appears on WSJ.com.
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