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New York • Senior lenders to Caesars Entertainment Corp. are joining negotiations to cut the casino operator's $25 billion debt load, a sign the company's engaging a larger group of creditors to explore options that may include a pre-arranged bankruptcy, according to four people with knowledge of the matter.
Rothschild Inc. and law firm Stroock & Stroock & Lavan, which are advising owners of the company's bank loans, signed confidentiality agreements that allows them to enter the debt-restructuring talks, the people said. At least some of their clients have either signed the same agreements or were in the process of doing so, said three of the people, who asked not to be identified because the discussions are private.
Caesars said last week it was beginning talks with some first-lien bondholders in an effort to pare debt at its biggest unit, which the company has struggled to service since its 2008 leveraged buyout by Leon Black's Apollo Global Management and TPG Capital. The restructuring will "create a path toward a sustainable capital structure," Gary Loveman, chief executive office of Las Vegas-based Caesars said in a Sept. 12 statement.
Agreement from both the company's bondholders and owners of its bank loans, who have a higher ranking in a bankruptcy, would be necessary to back a more sweeping restructuring plan and avoid a prolonged reorganization in court if other efforts fail, the people said. Without a buy-in from those creditors, the company would have trouble securing enough allies to quickly emerge from a bankruptcy.
Gary Thompson, a spokesman for Caesars, declined to comment, as did Kelly Cummings, a spokeswoman at Stroock. Daniel Yunger, a spokesman for Rothschild at Kekst & Co., didn't immediately comment.
Debtwire reported last week that a group of bank-loan holders had hired Rothschild and Stroock to help spearhead talks with the company.
At least six first-lien bondholders are in discussions with the company, including Pacific Investment Management Co. and Elliott Management Corp., people with knowledge of the matter said last week. Principals of Beach Point Capital Management, BlackRock Inc., Brigade Capital Management, and JPMorgan Asset Management Inc. are also involved in the talks, the people said.