Tilman Fertitta makes a play for Caesars, topping competitor's bid

Tilman Fertitta is reportedly making a play for Caesars Entertainment, with the billionaire looking to offer $7 billion for the company's acquisition, all the while pushing against a rival bid from fellow billionaire Carl Icahn.

According to people familiar with the matter who spoke to the Wall Street Journal, which did the original reporting, Fertitta and Icahn are now both looking to acquire the seminal gaming and hospitality brand, with Fertitta offering a serious premium on Caesars' stock at $34 per share. The offer is slightly ahead of the rival bid from Icahn Enterprises, which seeks to pay $33 per share. Icahn's offer is an all-cash deal, which is usually the preferred option for companies undergoing mergers and acquisitions. For his part, Fertitta has long been rumored as a potential buyer of Caesars Entertainment, but he has mostly demurred on commenting on the validity of those claims. Now, though, the deal may actually be going ahead, though Reuters notes that Caesars has not officially rejected Icahn's bid, meaning both offers could still be on the table. An announcement is not imminent, and a deal is far from certain. Billionaire has not hidden his ambitions about a potential acquisition Fertitta has a history with Caesars, having purchased around four million shares in the company back in 2019, believing it to be undervalued, according to Bloomberg. Many observers expected the billionaire to make a play for the property back then, but a competitive bid from Eldorado Resorts pushed through with a $17.3bn acquisition of Caesars, ending Fertitta's own ambitions at the time. Fertitta also believes that this may be an opportune moment to push through with an acquisition bid, as Caesars has reported a net loss for four consecutive quarters, making the timing of the offer particularly strategic.