Eldorado Resorts Inc. agreed to acquire rival casino operator Caesars Entertainment Corp. in a cash-and-stock transaction valued at $8.58 billion, in a move that would create one of the largest gambling companies in the U.S., the Wall Street Journal reported. As part of the deal, Eldorado would sell the property associated with three of Caesars’s Harrah’s casinos. The combined company, which will retain the Caesars name, will continue to trade on the Nasdaq Stock Market. Eldorado said it would buy all of Caesars’s shares outstanding for $12.75 each, with $8.40 a share in cash and 0.0899 share of Eldorado’s common stock for each of Caesar’s shares. Eldorado would also assume Caesars’ debt, which is about $8.8 billion. After the deal is complete, Eldorado would own 51 percent of the combined company and Caesars would hold 49 percent.
