Dive Brief:
- Two Fertitta Entertainment executives, Steven Scheinthal and Richard Liem, received unanimous approvals during a suitability review by the Nevada Gaming Control Board on Wednesday, amid Fertitta’s move to acquire Las Vegas resort and casino operator Caesars Entertainment.
- Scheinthal is executive vice president and general counsel for Fertitta, while Liem serves as the company’s chief financial officer. The pair make up two-thirds of the Fertitta board, with Paige Fertitta, wife of company owner Tilman Fertitta, as its third member.
- During the meeting, Scheinthal laid out several hurdles Fertitta will need to overcome to complete its acquisition of Caesars. Fertitta’s bid is also reportedly facing competition from Caesars’ shareholder and billionaire businessman Carl Icahn, according to Bloomberg.
Dive Insight:
The approvals came a little over a month after Caesars entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by American hospitality, dining and gaming conglomerate Fertitta Entertainment.
In an all-cash transaction, Fertitta has offered to pay roughly $5.7 billion to acquire Caesars and take on approximately $11.9 billion of Caesars’ outstanding debt, which brings the deal’s total value to $17.6 billion.
The acquisition would combine the companies’ iconic portfolios, including roughly 60 domestic casino resorts and gaming facilities; online and retail sports betting platforms; and more than 550 Fertitta Entertainment outlets, including some 450 Landry’s full-service restaurants.
However, obstacles remain for the deal to close, Scheinthal said during the regulatory meeting. For one, Fertitta must obtain antitrust clearance from the Federal Trade Commission. The company anticipates filing its HSR application with the FTC on July 13, Scheinthal said.
Fertitta must also gain approval from Caesars shareholders as well as approval in each jurisdiction where Caesars has a gaming operation, which could take up to 10 months, according to Scheinthal.
Also challenging Fertitta’s acquisition is a competing bid from Icahn, who previously showed intent to buy Caesars in March. Now, Jefferies Financial Group Inc. is gauging interest from investors to raise roughly $5 billion in debt to support Icahn in a possible rival bid, Bloomberg reported Tuesday.
Through a “go-shop” stipulation in the Caesars-Fertitta agreement, Caesars has the option to seek other bids through July 11.
Caesars did not respond to a Hotel Dive request for comment by the time of publication.
