Caesar’s Scaled Back IPO Prices At $9.00 a Share
By: Kayla Tausche | General Assignment Reporter
Caesar’s Entertainment priced its initial public offering at $9.00 a share, according to a person familiar with the matter. At$9.00, the company will raise roughly $16 million in proceeds.
It’s a road to IPO that has been anything but smooth for the Nevada-based Casino operator.
The company was originally expected to price the deal Monday night, but a technical glitch derailed the process, forcing the underwriters to wait until Tuesday to finish the offering, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Caesar’s had previously attempted to sell 31 million shares at a range of $15 - $17 in November 2010, but adverse market conditions forced it to abandon the offering entirely.
As part of Tuesday’s offering, it will sell only 1.8 million shares to the public – a small 1.4 percent of the company. A select group of co-investors will also be allowed to sell a block of roughly 11 million shares once the stock opens for trading.
Majority owned by private equity giants Apollo and TPG, Caesar’s remains saddled with a tremendous debt burden of more than $22 billion. The company disclosed in a filing that it will use the IPO proceeds for “general corporate purposes, including development projects and maintenance capital expenditures.”
The IPO is being co-led by Credit Suisse and Citigroup , with Bank of America , Deutsche Bank , Keybanc, Lebenthal & Co, and Ramirez & Co are also underwriting part of the deal.
Caesar’s will begin trading Tuesday at the Nasdaq under the symbol CZR.
A spokesperson for the company was not immediately available for comment.
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