Caesars Entertainment, owned by Black’s Apollo Global Management and TPG Capital, is close to getting two-thirds of the creditors in its bankrupt operating unit to agree to a new restructuring proposal, the New York Post reported yesterday. Leon Black’s aim is to get mostly senior creditors holding 80 percent of the gaming giant’s debt to agree to the plan so that he can pressure junior creditors, including fellow billionaire investor David Tepper’s Appaloosa Management, to get on board as well. It’s a long shot that Caesars will win court approval for the controversial restructuring without any second-lien creditors like Tepper. But there’s a decent chance the judge will approve the deal if Caesars wins over 80 percent of creditors — giving the company and its private-equity owners a bargaining chip in negotiations with the holdouts. The company’s latest restructuring proposal calls for combining the bankrupt operating arm and a separately traded investment arm and giving 47 percent of that merged entity to creditors. Caesars directors are also asking for a release from personal liability.
