Billionaire Tilman Fertitta has been in exclusive talks to buy Caesars Entertainment for roughly $7 billion after he topped a competing offer from billionaire investor Carl Icahn’s firm, according to people familiar with the matter.
Fertitta’s company, Fertitta Entertainment, has been discussing paying around $34 a share for the betting company, the people said. Caesars shares closed Tuesday at $26.01, giving the company a market value of over $5 billion.
An announcement between the two sides isn’t imminent, and it is possible the talks won’t result in any deal, some of the people cautioned.
Caesars had also received an all-cash offer of around $33 a share from Icahn Enterprises, the publicly traded company that houses the investment of Icahn, a Caesars shareholder, some of the people said. Icahn Enterprises’ offer hasn’t officially been rejected by Caesars, they added.
