U.S. casino operators Eldorado Resorts Inc. and Caesars Entertainment Corp. are in the early stages of exploring a merger, Reuters reported. The deal talks come after Caesars agreed this month to give billionaire investor Carl Icahn three board seats to his representatives and a say on the selection of its next chief executive officer. Caesars is providing some limited confidential financial information to Eldorado, which is carrying out due diligence on the potential combination of the two companies. Eldorado has yet to make a binding offer for Caesars, and there is no certainty any bid will materialize or that a deal will be successfully negotiated. Caesars and Eldorado have market capitalizations of $5.4 billion and $3.6 billion, respectively. They also had debt piles of $9.1 billion and $3.3 billion, respectively, as of the end of December. The combination of Caesars and Eldorado would create a more formidable competitor to larger casino industry players, such as Las Vegas Sands Corp., Wynn Resorts Ltd. and MGM Resorts International. Caesars emerged from bankruptcy protection in 2017, after failing to cope with some $25 billion in debt. It had 53 properties in 14 U.S. states and five countries outside the U.S., as of the end of December. Eldorado owns and operates 26 properties in 12 U.S. states.
