Caesars Scores Win In Bankruptcy Process

Caesars Entertainment Corp. can have the bankruptcy process for one of its units happen in the city of Chicago, a federal judge in Delaware decided Wednesday, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported.

The ruling was seen as a victory for the company, which has billions in debt.

Caesars Entertainment Operating Co. has $18.4 billion in debt, and the bankruptcy process will eliminate about $10 billion of it. Caesars wants to convert CEOC into a publicly traded real estate investment trust, the RJ reported.

The CEOC unit controls Caesars Palace, Caesars Atlantic City, Harrah’s Reno and more than a dozen other properties in the United States.

Here’s why moving it to Chicago is seen as a win for Caesars:

Creditor attorneys had said that Caesars filed in Illinois partly because it will be easier to shield company officials there from lawsuits over what they allege were improper transfers to shield the operating unit’s assets from creditors, The Associated Press reported.

A majority of Caesars was purchased in 2006—the height of casino gaming revenue in Las Vegas and Atlantic City—by Apollo Global Management and TPG Capital, both of which reportedly benefit from the bankruptcy process being in Chicago.

A group of hedge fund creditors led by Appaloosa Management are the losers.

Caesars has revenue of about $8.5 billion annually, which trails industry leader Las Vegas Sands Corp. and its more than $14 billion in annual revenue.

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