Eldorado to Sell Hoosier Casinos After Merger
(photo courtesy of Horseshoe Hammond)
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowNevada-based Eldorado Resorts Inc. (Nasdaq: ERI) has confirmed plans to divest three Indiana casinos after closing on its proposed $17 billion acquisition of Caesars Entertainment Corp. (Nasdaq: CZR). The deal last week received approval from the Indiana Gaming Commission, which stipulated the combined company must sell three of its Indiana facilities by the end of the year.
According to our partners at The Times of Northwest Indiana, Eldorado CEO Thomas Reeg told the Indiana Horse Racing Commission the company plans to offload the Horseshoe Hammond casino, Caesars Southern Indiana Casino in Florence, and Tropicana Evansville.
The Horse Racing Commission unanimously approved the deal on Monday. The acquisition could close as early as the end of the month, pending approval from the New Jersey Gaming Control Commission.
“This is a momentous occasion,” said Horse Racing Commission Chairman Philip Borst. “We’ve got a good thing going in Indiana and we do not want it to go downhill. We want it only to get better.”
The Times reports Eldorado previously told investors it was expected to be required to divest only two properties, which would have been the two southern Indiana casinos. Reeg says the company has received interest from potential buyers but it has not begun the process of divestiture.
The company, which will be known as Caesars Entertainment Inc. after the acquisition is complete, will maintain control of Indiana Grand Racing & Casino in Shelbyville and Harrah’s Hoosier Park Racing & Casino in Anderson.