Caesars Entertainment plans new stock offering

Caesars Entertainment Corp. on Thursday filed paperwork with the Securities and Exchange Commission to sell as much as $500 million in shares of common stock.

Based on Thursday's closing price of $12.52 per share, Caesars Entertainment would need to list more than 39.9 million shares to reach $500 million. Last month, Caesars went public with a small stock sale, listing just 1.4 percent of the company, or 1.81 million shares.

The filing doesn't give a date for the sale and it does not commit the casino company to the transaction.

Caesars also filed documents with the SEC that would allow 40 different investors and investment firms to sell a combined 22.3 million shares in the company.

Caesars would not benefit by any proceeds from that sale.

Public filings indicated that many private investors in Caesars intended to sell shares once there was a public market for them.

In its filing, Caesars said the money would be used for "general corporate purposes," which includes developing hotel-casino projects, capital expenditures for general maintenance, and debt retirement.

As of Dec. 31, Caesars said it had
$19.6 billion in long-term debt.

Analysts had said the Caesars IPO was a precursor to the company listing additional shares.

Caesars is 20 percent owner and will manage two casinos in Ohio, and has proposed building a casino in downtown Baltimore. The corporation also is expected to bid on a casino license in Boston.

Caesars saw its IPO stock price jump almost 80 percent on the first day of trading, with more than 11.4 million shares changing hands.

Company insiders and private investors were also allowed to sell shares.

Caesars, formerly known as Harrah's Entertainment, was a publicly traded company before being taken private in a $29 billion private equity buyout in January 2008. Apollo Management and TPG now own about 70 percent of Caesars.

Last month, the company reported that its fourth-quarter loss widened on higher interest expenses, though the Caesars Strip properties reported higher revenue.

The company has 10 casinos on or near the Strip.

Shares of Caesars closed down, 36 cents, or 2.8 percent, Thursday to close at $12.52 on the Nasdaq Global Select Market.

Contact reporter Howard Stutz at hstutz@reviewjournal .com or 702-477-3871. Follow @howardstutz on Twitter.