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Caesars Entertainment at a crossroads


The future direction of Caesars Entertainment became even less clear after it was reported by the Wall Street Journal that Carl Icahn, who holds a roughly 10 percent stake in the company, is urging Caesars to sell itself, showing his lack of confidence in the current leadership.

This comes precisely during a period in which Caesars is in the midst of a leadership transition. The imminent departure of president and CEO Mark Frissora was announced last November, and no successor has yet been named.

Originally, Frissora was supposed to be gone earlier this month, but a special agreement was made to delay his departure until the end of April.

Several bidders for Caesars have also emerged in recent months. Golden Nugget made a bid for the company late last year which was rejected by the Caesars board of directors. Tilman Fertitta, who owns Golden Nugget, has since bought a 1 percent share in Caesars and remains interested in taking over the company.

MGM Resorts and Eldorado Resorts have also been cited in various media reports in recent months as having potential interest in a Caesars buyout.

News of Carl Icahn’s desire to see Caesars be sold caused the company’s stock to jump six percent higher on Wall Street, suggesting that markets liked the idea.

Caesars Entertainment has been active in Japan seeking an IR license in both major urban markets and regional areas. The uncertainty over the company’s future will likely impact their bid negatively unless their future direction becomes clear in the weeks and months ahead.

Caesars Korea, the company’s first venture in East Asia, is also currently under construction in Incheon, with an anticipated opening in 2021.

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