Icahn at the table

Will push for Caesars’ sale: sources

Carl Icahn is placing his chips on a sale of Caesars Entertainment.

The billionaire shareholder activist owns roughly 10 percent of Caesars 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 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 proposed a separate combination last year, which Caesars rejected.

Caesars is one of the world’s 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.

In addition to common stock, Icahn has another roughly 10 percent stake in Caesars through swaps that don’t give him control of the shares but allow him to reap the benefit of any price increase, the people said.

Icahn decided to get involved after a handful of Caesars shareholders asked him to help get the company sold, the people familiar with his plans said. He hasn’t ruled out launching a proxy fight, which he would need to do by a March 1 deadline, the people said.

Caeasas’ stock rose 5.1 percent, to $9.62, on Tuesday.