Stockholders yesterday approved the long-planned acquisition of gaming giant Harrah's Entertainment Inc. (NYSE:HET) by Apollo Management and the Texas Pacific Group (TPG). Two-thirds of voting shares agreed to the $90 per share purchase price, which was recommended by Harrah's Board. The final price was $6.19 over the stock's closing price on March 8th, the cutoff for inclusion in the deal. In the $17.1 billion buyout, TPG and Apollo take on $10.7 billion of debt. Paying down this debt will overshadow any expansion plans for the foreseeable future.
A number of regulating agencies in areas where Harrah's operates have yet to review and approve the deal. Harrah's expects the deal to be completed by the end of the year.
Harrah's, by revenue the world's largest casino company, has facilities in the U.S. and around the world, including some of Las Vegas' prime properties.
For more about Apollo, see Tom Taulli's post in BloggingStocks.
Follow Harrah's story at BloggingBuyouts
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