One of the most recognizable names on the Las Vegas Strip is changing hands. Caesars Entertainment is being acquired by Fertitta Entertainment for nearly $6 billion in a deal that also transfers close to $12 billion in debt, bringing the total transaction value to about $17.6 billion, according to ABC News.
Fertitta Entertainment already owns the Golden Nugget in Las Vegas and operates a portfolio of restaurant chains including Rainforest Cafe and Morton's.
Caesars investors will receive $31 in cash for each share they own. That price represents a 49% premium over where the stock was trading before talk of a potential merger between the two companies began in February. Shares of Caesars Entertainment had already risen about 15% since those merger rumors first surfaced, and they climbed nearly another 2% before the opening bell on Thursday.
As part of the agreement, Caesars is permitted to seek competing bids through July 11.
Caesars Palace opened on the Las Vegas Strip in 1966 and made the Caesars name iconic in American casino culture. The company's roots stretch back further, to the 1930s in Reno, Nevada.
