Fertitta-owned firm to buy Caesars Entertainment in nearly $18 billion leisure push

A view north along Las Vegas Boulevard is seen from Caesars Palace Hotel and Casino at sunset in Las Vegas, Dec. 7, 2015. George Rose | Getty Images Caesars Entertainment said on Thursday it will be bought out by Tilman Fertitta-owned firm in a $17.6 billion deal, as the hospitality billionaire looks to expand his leisure empire. The deal, which will take one of the Las Vegas Strip's most prized casino operators private, includes about $11.9 billion in assumed debt, the company said. Fertitta, the United States ambassador to Italy and San Marino and owner of Fertitta Entertainment, offered $31 per share for the company, a nearly 50% premium to the stock's closing price before the deal was first reported in February. Fertitta Entertainment, which owns the Golden Nugget Hotel and Casinos and basketball team Houston Rockets, had approached Caesars in 2018 about merging it with his own gaming empire, Reuters had reported. Through his restaurant and hospitality company, Fertitta owns more than 600 properties in 36 states and over 15 countries, including casual dining brands such as Rainforest Café and Bubba Gump Shrimp. Caesars combined with smaller rival Eldorado Resorts in 2020 to form one of the biggest casino and entertainment companies in the United States — a deal set in motion after activist investor and billionaire Carl Icahn built a stake a year before and pushed the company to pursue a sale. …