FINWIRES · TerminalLIVE
FINWIRES

Caesars Entertainment to be Taken Private by Fertitta Entertainment in $17.6 Billion Deal

By
Caesars Entertainment to be Taken Private by Fertitta Entertainment in $17.6 Billion Deal

Caesars Entertainment (CZR) has agreed to be acquired and taken private by Fertitta Entertainment in an all-cash deal worth roughly $17.6 billion, the companies said in separate statements Thursday.

Shareholders of casino operator Caesars will receive $31 per share for each share owned. The consideration represents a premium of 49% to the company's stock price on Feb. 25, the last trading day before speculation of a potential transaction began, according to the companies.

The $17.6 billion valuation includes $11.9 billion of Caesars' debt.

Tilman Fertitta's Fertitta Entertainment owns restaurant giant Landry's, Golden Nugget Hotel and Casinos, and the basketball team Houston Rockets. Fertitta Entertainment approached Caesars in 2018 regarding a merger with its gaming empire, media reports show.

Tilman Fertitta, who donated to US President Donald Trump's 2024 election campaign, serves as the US ambassador to Italy, Reuters reported.

Caesars' stock was up 1.6% in Thursday trade, and has gained 25% year-to-date.

The combination will allow guests access to a diversified array of offerings, including 60 domestic casino resorts and gaming facilities, the companies said.

The deal requires approval from Caesars' shareholders and clearance from regulators. The Carano family, which owns about 5% of Caesars' stock, has agreed to roll a portion of their equity interests into Fertitta Entertainment.

Following completion, Caesars will no longer trade on the Nasdaq, the companies said. Its senior management officials, including Chief Executive Tom Reeg, are expected to remain in their current roles.

The transaction allows Caesars to consider alternative acquisition proposals by July 11, according to the companies.

In April, Caesars reported a first-quarter net loss of $0.48 per share, narrowing from a $0.54 loss the year before. Revenue improved 2.7% annually to $2.87 billion.

Related Articles

Dollar Tree Raises Full-Year Earnings Outlook Following Fiscal First-Quarter Beat
US Markets

Dollar Tree Raises Full-Year Earnings Outlook Following Fiscal First-Quarter Beat

Dollar Tree (DLTR) raised its full-year earnings outlook on Thursday after the discount retailer reported fiscal first-quarter results above Wall Street's estimates.The company now expects adjusted earnings to be in a range of $6.70 to $7.10 per share for fiscal 2026, up from its previous outlook of $6.50 to $6.90. The current consensus on FactSet is for non-GAAP EPS of $6.67.The stock jumped 9.8% in the most recent premarket activity.Dollar Tree continues to project net sales from continuing operations at $20.5 billion to $20.7 billion for the ongoing fiscal year and comparable sales to grow by 3% to 4%. The Street is looking for same-store sales growth of 3.3%.Adjusted EPS for the three months ended May 2 advanced to $1.74 from $1.26 a year earlier and topped the average analyst estimate of $1.53. Overall revenue improved to $4.98 billion from $4.64 billion, ahead of the Street's view for $4.96 billion."Our first-quarter results reflect continued progress across the business and demonstrate the strength of Dollar Tree's position," Chief Executive Mike Creedon said in a statement. "We continued advancing our strategic plan - a more relevant assortment, agile cost management, a stronger customer connection, and new store growth coupled with improved store conditions - all driving operating margin expansion and delivering a strong bottom-line performance."Same-store net sales inclined 3.5%, while analysts expected a 3.3% rise at the enterprise level. The metric was buoyed by a 4.5% gain in average ticket.Traffic declined by 1%, but this represented a sequential improvement from the 120 basis-point decrease in the prior quarter, Truist Securities said in a client note.If traffic continues to improve sequentially, Dollar Tree shares could "re-rate significantly from current levels," according to Truist Managing Director Scot Ciccarelli.For the ongoing quarter, the company anticipates adjusted EPS of $1 to $1.15 on net sales of $4.8 billion to $4.9 billion. Analysts are looking for non-GAAP EPS of $0.99. Comparable store net sales are forecast to grow by 2.5% to 3.5%, while the market's current view is for a gain of 2.8%.

$DLTR
Stocks Fall Pre-Bell Amid Renewed US-Iran Tensions; Key Inflation, Economic Data on Deck
US Markets

Stocks Fall Pre-Bell Amid Renewed US-Iran Tensions; Key Inflation, Economic Data on Deck

The main US stock measures were trending lower in Thursday's premarket activity amid renewed tensions in the Middle East, while traders await key inflation and economic data.The S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average edged down 0.1% each before the opening bell, while the Nasdaq was off 0.2%. The indexes finished Wednesday's trading session with fresh highs.Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said Thursday it targeted a US airbase, CNBC reported, citing Tehran's semi-official Tasnim news agency.The reported attack came after a US official told MS Now on Wednesday that US forces carried out strikes against a military site believed to threaten its troops and commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.West Texas Intermediate crude oil increased 1.7% to $90.21 a barrel in premarket action, while Brent rose 1.6% to $95.81.President Donald Trump on Wednesday said that no single country will control the crucial Strait of Hormuz, according to Bloomberg News. "Nobody's going to control it, it's international waters," Trump reportedly said at the White House. "The strait's going to be open to everybody," and the US will "watch over it," he added.Earlier on Wednesday, Trump expressed confidence that the US would be able to reach a deal to end the conflict, but he is not yet satisfied with the terms, CNN reported. Iranian state TV previously claimed that a draft memorandum on ending the conflict calls for the US to withdraw its military forces and lift the naval blockade in return for reopening the Strait of Hormuz within a month. However, the White House dismissed it as a "complete fabrication," according to CNN.The personal income and outlays report for April is due to be released at 8:30 am ET. The report includes the personal consumption expenditure core price index, the Federal Reserve's preferred inflation metric.Treasury yields were moving higher before the open, with the two-year rate gaining 2.7 basis points to 4.06% and the 10-year rate adding 1.2 basis points to 4.49%.Thursday's economic calendar also has the second estimate report of the first-quarter gross domestic product at 8:30 am, along with the weekly jobless claims bulletin and the durable goods orders report for last month. The new home sales report for April is out at 10 am, followed by the EIA domestic petroleum inventories report at 12 pm.New York Fed President John Williams is slated to speak at 8:55 am, while St. Louis Fed President Alberto Musalem speaks at 10:15 am. Richmond Fed President Thomas Barkin's remarks are due at 3 pm.Shares of Snowflake (SNOW) jumped 38% pre-bell after the cloud-based data platform lifted its full-year product revenue outlook and agreed to a $6 billion infrastructure spending deal with Amazon's (AMZN) cloud platform. Salesforce (CRM) declined nearly 2% as the company issued a soft fiscal second-quarter outlook.Marvell Technology (MRVL) and Synopsys (SNPS) dropped 3.3% and 2.8%, respectively, following their latest quarterly results.Burlington Stores (BURL), Dollar Tree (DLTR), Li Auto (LI), XPeng (XPEV), Best Buy (BBY) and Hormel Foods (HRL) are expected to release their earnings before the bell, among others. Costco Wholesale (COST), Dell Technologies (DELL) and MongoDB (MDB) are scheduled to announce their results after the markets close.Gold fell 1.1% to $4,400 per troy ounce, while bitcoin slipped 2.2% to $73,258.

$^DJI$^IXIC$^SPX$BBY$BURL$COST$CRM$DELL$DLTR$HRL$LI$MDB$MRVL$SNOW$SNPS$XPEV
SSE Ramps Up Capital Investment Amid Fiscal 2026 Earnings, Dividend Growth
US Markets

SSE Ramps Up Capital Investment Amid Fiscal 2026 Earnings, Dividend Growth

SSE (SSE.L) on Thursday delivered financial results toward the upper end of its guidance and record capital investment for fiscal 2026, mainly in its electricity transmission business.The British utility reported an increase in attributable profit for the 12 months ended March 31 to 1.21 billion pounds sterling from 1.19 billion pounds a year ago, with revenue growth to 10.19 billion pounds from 10.13 billion pounds. Adjusted EPS was 1.535 pounds, near the upper end of guidance, mirroring its strong operational performance.SSE recommended a final dividend of 0.473 pound per share, taking the full-year payout to 0.687 pound per share, up from 0.642 pound per share a year earlier. The dividend will be paid Sept. 17 to shareholders on record July 24.Meanwhile, SSE's adjusted capital investment jumped 20% to 3.6 billion pounds, with delivery of its 33 billion-pound investment plan to 2030 "well under way." SSE Chief Executive Martin Pibworth called the investment "central to long‑term value creation" and would cut the UK's exposure to volatile global energy markets."With record levels of capital investment in line with our plan and strong momentum across the Group, we are well placed to deliver sustainable growth and value creation for our shareholders while helping to build a more affordable and secure energy system for the UK," Pibworth added.Looking forward, the utility affirmed its adjusted EPS estimates of between 1.68 pounds and 1.93 pounds for fiscal 2027, and between 2.25 pounds and 2.50 pounds for fiscal 2030. It also expects to raise its capital expenditure for fiscal 2027 to over 5 billion pounds.RBC Capital Markets, which rated the stock outperform with a price target of 30.25 pounds, expressed positive sentiment after the results. "Given the +2p/sh accounting change announced earlier this month, consensus may be slightly lagging however SSE still at the top end of the guided range for FY26 and forward targets reaffirmed with consensus for FY27 broadly at the midpoint of the updated guidance range (post equity)."SSE's shares dropped over 1% in London at midday.

$SSE.L