Eldorado’s merger and acquisition of Caesars has received approval in New Jersey.
Eldorado Resorts is set to finalise its acquisition of Caesars Entertainment after receiving approval from the New Jersey Casino Control Commission.
Now that the deal has received approval in New Jersey, Eldorado and Caesars have secured all of the necessary regulatory approvals to complete the merger and can proceed with the deal.
The Eldorado-Caesars deal
Eldorado and Caesars both announced the deal last year which will see Eldorado pay $17.4bn to take ownership of Caesars. Eldorado will fund the acquisition with $7.2bn in cash and approximately 77m Eldorado common shares.
Eldorado initially planned to complete the acquisition before the end of H1 2020, but due to the market conditions caused by the coronavirus pandemic, it is not clear when the deal will be finalised.
Merger receives regulatory approvals
The Merger was subject several closing conditions which included securing regulatory approval from Nevada’s regulator. In November, shareholders from both operators approved the deal, while regulators in other states approved the merger.
In June, the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) also approved the deal, after requiring Eldorado to sell two of its casino venues to Twin River Worldwide Holdings in jurisdictions where the merger was deemed uncompetitive.
Earlier this month, Twin River announced it had completed the acquisition of Eldorado Resorts’ Ilse of Capri Casino in Kansas City, Missouri and the Lady Luck Casino in Vicksburg, Mississippi.
The Nevada Gaming Control Board (NGCB) and Gaming Commission also approved the deal earlier in July.
Last week, the Indiana Gaming Commission approved the merger but ordered the business to sell three Indiana casinos. As both Caesars and Eldorado, operate several casinos in the state of Indiana the regulator had some reservations about the deal.
Caesars operates Harrah’s Hoosier Park Racing & Casino, Horseshoe Hammond Casino, Caesars Southern Indiana Casino, and Indiana Grand Racing & Casino, while Eldorado owns and operates the Tropicana casino in Evansville.
The regulator said that the combined business entity would control up to 60% of the state’s gambling revenue. Eldorado volunteered to divest two of its casinos in the state, but the regulator said it would need to offload three venues.
