LAS VEGAS, Dec. 22, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Caesars
Entertainment Corporation (NASDAQ: CZR) ("Caesars Entertainment" or
"Caesars") has completed the previously announced agreement to sell
and leaseback the real estate assets associated with Harrah's
Las Vegas to VICI Properties
("VICI") and to acquire adjacent land from VICI to develop a
planned new convention center. Caesars Entertainment received
$1.14 billion in cash in return for
Harrah's Las Vegas' real estate
assets and acquired 18.4 acres of adjacent land as part of the
convention center agreement.
"The successful closing of these transactions marks the latest
step in our diversified growth strategy," said Mark Frissora, President and Chief Executive
Officer of Caesars Entertainment. "The proceeds of the sale of
Harrah's Las Vegas will be used to
partially fund the previously announced acquisition of Centaur and
is expected to allow us to develop the convention center without
increasing leverage. In addition, the transactions will allow us to
maintain Harrah's Las Vegas'
connectivity to our network, while pursuing our plans to develop
another important destination right in the middle of our
center-Strip footprint."
Caesars Entertainment will continue to operate Harrah's
Las Vegas, including gaming, hotel
operations and all other amenities. The property will remain a part
of the Caesars Entertainment network and continue to benefit from
the Harrah's brand, the Total Rewards loyalty network and access to
centralized services. The sale and leaseback transaction expands
the recently formed relationship between Caesars Entertainment and
VICI Properties. As part of the sale and leaseback transaction,
Caesars and VICI will enter into a 15-year lease for Harrah's
Las Vegas under which Caesars will
pay initial annual rent of $87.4
million. The rent will increase contractually in subsequent
years. Caesars will have the option to extend the lease for an
additional 20 years via four five-year extensions.
The planned convention center is expected to feature 300,000
square feet of flexible meeting space. It will have the largest
column-free ballroom in the United
States, state-of-the-art technology and flexibility to
accommodate meetings of many different sizes. The conference space
is expected to accommodate more than 10,000 attendees and include
an outdoor plaza, which can be used for a variety of events.
Caesars Entertainment and VICI Properties have negotiated for
limited purchase rights with respect to the planned convention
center upon completion. Subject to certain conditions, Caesars will
have the right to require VICI to purchase the convention center
and lease it back to Caesars, and in the event Caesars does not
exercise its put right, VICI will have an option to acquire the
convention center and lease it back to Caesars.
About Caesars Entertainment Corporation
Caesars Entertainment is the world's most diversified
casino-entertainment provider and the most geographically diverse
U.S. casino-entertainment company. Caesars Entertainment is mainly
comprised of two wholly owned operating subsidiaries:
CEOC, LLC and Caesars Resort Collection, LLC. Since its
beginning in Reno, Nevada, in
1937, Caesars Entertainment has grown through development of new
resorts, expansions and acquisitions and its portfolio of
subsidiaries now operate 47 casinos in 13 U.S. states and five
countries. Caesars Entertainment's resorts operate primarily under
the Caesars®, Harrah's® and Horseshoe® brand names. Caesars
Entertainment's portfolio also includes the Caesars Entertainment
UK family of casinos. Caesars Entertainment is focused on building
loyalty and value with its guests through a unique combination of
great service, excellent products, unsurpassed distribution,
operational excellence and technology leadership. Caesars
Entertainment is committed to environmental sustainability and
energy conservation and recognizes the importance of being a
responsible steward of the environment. For more information,
please visit www.caesars.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This release includes "forward-looking statements" intended to
qualify for the safe harbor from liability established by the
Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. In particular,
they include statements relating to, among other
things, Caesars Entertainment's plans, strategies,
opportunities for growth and consummation of the proposed
acquisition of Centaur and development of a convention center. You
can identify these statements by the fact that they do not relate
strictly to historical or current facts. Further, these statements
contain words such as "will", "expects", "plans" and "continue to"
or the negative or other variations thereof or comparable
terminology. These forward-looking statements are based on current
expectations and projections about future events.
Investors are cautioned that forward-looking statements are not
guarantees of future performance or results and involve risks and
uncertainties that cannot be predicted or quantified, and,
consequently, the actual performance of Caesars
Entertainment may differ materially from those expressed or
implied by such forward-looking statements. Such risks and
uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the following
factors, and other factors described from time to time
in Caesars Entertainment's reports filed with
the Securities and Exchange Commission (including the
sections entitled "Risk Factors" and "Management's Discussion and
Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations"
contained therein):
- completion of the acquisition of Centaur described herein is
subject to receipt of regulatory approvals and other customary
closing conditions, which may not be satisfied;
- we may not be able to realize the anticipated benefits of our
proposed acquisition of Centaur;
- development of the convention center is subject to risks
associated with new construction projects, including those
described below;
- the impact of our new operating structure post-emergence;
- the effects of local and national economic, credit, and capital
market conditions on the economy, in general, and on the gaming
industry, in particular;
- the ability to realize improvements in our business and results
of operations through our property renovation investments,
technology deployments, business process improvement initiatives
and other continuous improvement initiatives;
- the ability to take advantage of opportunities to grow our
revenue;
- the financial results of our consolidated businesses;
- the impact of our substantial indebtedness and lease
obligations and the restrictions in our debt and lease
agreements;
- access to available and reasonable financing on a timely basis,
including the ability of Caesars Entertainment to refinance its
indebtedness on acceptable terms;
- the ability of our customer tracking, customer loyalty, and
yield management programs to continue to increase customer loyalty
and same-store or hotel sales;
- changes in the extensive governmental regulations to which we
are subject, and changes in laws, including increased tax rates,
smoking bans, regulations or accounting standards, third-party
relations and approvals, and decisions, disciplines and fines of
courts, regulators and governmental bodies;
- our ability to recoup costs of capital investments through
higher revenues;
- abnormal gaming holds ("gaming hold" is the amount of money
that is retained by the casino from wagers by customers);
- the effects of competition, including locations of competitors,
growth of online gaming, competition for new licenses, and
operating and market competition;
- the ability to timely and cost-effectively integrate companies
that we acquire into our operations;
- the potential difficulties in employee retention and
recruitment;
- construction factors, including delays, increased costs of
labor and materials, availability of labor and materials, zoning
issues, environmental restrictions, soil and water conditions,
weather and other hazards, site access matters, and building permit
issues;
- litigation outcomes and judicial and governmental body actions,
including gaming legislative action, referenda, regulatory
disciplinary actions, and fines and taxation;
- acts of war or terrorist incidents, (including the impact of
the recent mass shooting in Las
Vegas on tourism), severe weather conditions, uprisings or
natural disasters, including losses therefrom, losses in revenues
and damage to property, and the impact of severe weather conditions
on our ability to attract customers to certain of our
facilities;
- the effects of environmental and structural building conditions
relating to our properties;
- a disruption, failure or breach of our network, information
systems or other technology, or those of our vendors, on which we
are dependent;
- risks and costs associated with protecting the integrity and
security of internal, employee and customer data;
- access to insurance on reasonable terms for our assets;
and
- the impact, if any, of unfunded pension benefits under
multiemployer pension plans.
Any forward-looking statements are made pursuant to the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and, as such, speak only
as of the date made. Caesars
Entertainment disclaims any obligation to update the
forward-looking statements. You are cautioned not to place
undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak
only as of the date stated or, if no date is stated, as of the date
of this release.
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SOURCE Caesars Entertainment Corporation