American casino giant Caesars Entertainment Operating Company Incorporated has emerged from bankruptcy after completing a complicated restructuring plan that saw it shed approximately $10 billion in overall liabilities. Caesars Entertainment Operating Company Corporation is the casino-operating subordinate of Las Vegas-based Caesars Entertainment Corporation and filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protections in January of 2015 with long-term debts of around $18.4 billion. Following multiple investor lawsuits, the firm’s future was finally secured in January after its parent agreed to merge with its Caesars Acquisition Company subsidiary and separate its United States property assets from its gaming operations.
Mark Frissora, President and Chief Executive Officer for Caesars Entertainment Corporation, stated that the restructuring has left his firm with an ‘expected enterprise value’ of around $20 billion and that the company is now ‘positioned with a solid foundation to pursue a diversified growth strategy’ thanks to increased cash flows, reduced leverage and a new real estate investment trust structure. Caesars Entertainment Operating Company Incorporated is responsible for 47 commercial and aboriginal casinos across the United States including Caesars Atlantic City, Harrah’s Las Vegas and Bally’s Atlantic City. The successful completion of its restructuring plan had been dependent on the receipt of approvals from several state gaming regulators including those of Nevada, New Jersey, Louisiana and Missouri.
Frissora proclaimed that the enterprise had ‘invested significantly to upgrade and renovate its facilities’ during the restructuring with total capital expenditure from 2015 to 2017 ‘expected to exceed’ $1.5 billion. “We are also executing hundreds of initiatives to generate incremental revenues as well as to enhance operational efficiency, guest experiences and employee engagement through technology-driven innovation and process improvement,” said Frissora. As part of the restructure, Caesars Entertainment Corporation explained that it has moreover hired experienced executive James Hunt to serve as its Chairman while appointing a new board of directors that consists of Frissora alongside John Dionne, John Boushy, Matthew Ferko, David Sambur, Thomas Benninger, Don Kornstein, Richard Schifter, Christopher Williams and Marilyn Spiegel.
Hunt, who served as Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice-President for Walt Disney Parks and Resorts Worldwide from 2003 to 2012, declared that it was an ‘honor’ to serve as Chairman for Caesars Entertainment Corporation and that he is ‘committed to working tirelessly’ in order to ‘drive long-term value creation’.
