Carl Icahn gambled again. And won again, given Monday's news that Eldorado Resorts agreed to buy Caesar's Entertainment for $17.3 billion (including assumed debt), or $12.75 per share in cash and stock.
Why it matters: It creates the largest owner and operator of U.S. casinos, with the combined company to retain the Caesar's brand.
- The price is a 29% premium over where shares closed Friday, and nearly an 88% increase from where they entered 2019.
Details: Icahn first disclosed a 9.8% stake in Caesar's in mid-February, and began pushing the company to sell. Caesar's quickly folded, giving Icahn three board seats and a say in picking its next CEO.
- By the end of March, Icahn was the company's largest outside shareholder with a 15.84% stake (per S&P IQ).
- He reportedly worked to block an $11 per share takeover offer from Eldorado which, if true, netted Icahn an additional $174 million.
- Caesar's shares opened trading in 2019 below $7 per share, and closed Friday at $9.99 per share.
The big picture: Today's deal is the second time in less than a year that Icahn has cashed in chips at the Eldorado window, having previously sold it Tropicana Entertainment for $1.85 billion.
The state of play: Icahn also took the rare step of publicly praising the Caesar's board for "acting responsibly and decisively in negotiating and approving this transformational transaction."
- But, true to form, he also used the moment to slam Occidental Petroleum for its proposed Anadarko acquisition, over which Icahn is suing Occidental.
Go deeper: The war between Carl Icahn and Cigna
