Zona de Azar USA – Eldorado Plans Sale of Stock, Vegas Land With Caesars Deal Near

USA.- June 23, 2020 www.zonadeazar.com Eldorado Resorts Inc. said it plans to issue new shares, sell some Las Vegas real estate and take other steps to strengthen its finances ahead of a $17 billion merger of Caesars Entertainment Corp.

The casino and gaming company is offering as many as 20.7 million shares of its stock, with the proceeds going to general corporate purposes, the company said Monday. At the closing price of $38.44, that could generate about $800 million.

Vici Properties, a real estate investment trust spun off from Caesars, is providing a $400 million mortgage on a convention center Caesars opened in Las Vegas, and is purchasing 23 acres of land nearby for $4.5 million an acre. Eldorado also amended terms to a lease with Gaming and Leisure Properties Inc., which owns a number of casinos that it manages.

Lastly, Eldorado and Caesars obtained waivers from banks to requirements that they maintain a certain level of debt to earnings.

The acquisition of Caesars, which was first announced in June of last year, is one of the largest and riskiest deals yet to close from the pre-Covid era. The deal will make Eldorado, once a small, family-run casino business, the largest operator of gambling establishments in the U.S.

The Reno, Nevada-based company was already having to find new owners for several properties in markets where it feared regulators may have objected to its increased market share. The length of time required to win approvals in each of the states the company would operate in extended into the coronavirus pandemic, which shuttered virtually all of the casinos in the country.

Debt Revisions
Eldorado and Caesars have obtained more flexibility from banks on key provisions in its debt documents that determine how much the company can borrow relative to its earnings. Companies in large swaths of the travel and entertainment industries have obtained similar concessions from lenders as their earnings plunged during the pandemic, avoiding a wave of defaults.

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