FTC approves Eldorado-Caesars merger
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has approved the merger between Eldorado Resorts and Caesars Entertainment, after requiring Eldorado to sell two properties to Twin River Worldwide Holdings in markets where the deal was deemed uncompetitive.
The required sales – of the Eldorado Shreveport Resort and Casino in Louisiana and the Mont Bleu Casino Resort & Spa in Lake Tahoe, Nevada for a purchase price of $155m – were agreed in April.
Eldorado agreed to acquire Caesars for $17.3bn – $7.2bn in cash, and approximately 77m Eldorado common shares – in June 2019, with shareholders of both operators approving the deal in November.
However, the deal faced a complaint under the Clayton Antitrust Act, arguing that the proposed acquisition would harm competition for casino services in a number of regions.