Caesars Entertainment said on Tuesday it has struck a crucial $5 billion deal with most of its casino operating unit's creditors, resolving billions of dollars in legal claims and paving the subsidiary's way out of a costly bankruptcy.
The Las Vegas-based company's main operating unit, Caesars Entertainment Operating, filed in January 2015 one of the most complex U.S. bankruptcies with $18 billion of debt.
The restructuring has been embroiled in a sprawling web of litigation between some of Wall Street's most aggressive investors.
Junior creditors led by hedge fund Appaloosa Management accused the Caesars parent and its private equity owners Apollo Global Management and TPG Capital Management of looting the operating unit of its best assets and leaving it bankrupt.
Under the agreement announced after a week of intense telephone negotiations from New York to Los Angeles, junior creditors will receive about 66 cents on the dollar, up from 27 cents under a previous plan.
As part of the sweetened deal, junior creditors will own a larger equity holding in the new group to be formed through the merger of the parent company and another affiliate, Caesars Acquisition.
Apollo and TPG, which formed Caesars in 2008 through a $30 billion leveraged buyout of Harrah's just before a U.S. economic downturn, will together own about 16 percent of the new group, according to regulatory filings.
Caesars said the private equity funds' contribution to the reorganization plan is worth about $950 million.
The settlement came after the judge overseeing the bankruptcy pressed Caesars directors such as billionaire investors Marc Rowan of Apollo and David Bonderman of TPG to contribute personally to the reorganization in exchange for releases from fraud allegations.
An independent examination led by a former Watergate prosecutor found in March that Caesars and its private equity owners could be on the hook for roughly $5 billion. Junior creditors said they had claims worth up to $12.6 billion.
The deal needs to be formalized and approved by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Chicago.
First-lien bank lenders will recover roughly 115 cents on the dollar, about 1 cent less than previously agreed upon, while first-lien noteholders will still recover about 109 cents on the dollar.
Shares of Caesars closed at $7.67, down nearly 19 percent. Caesars Acquisition fell 2 percent to close at $12.58 per share.
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