Harrah's Board Said to Agree to Buyout

Harrah's Entertainment Inc., the world's largest casino company, has agreed to a $90 per share buyout offer from two private equity groups, said a person with knowledge of the negotiations, the AP reports. The agreement with Apollo Management Group and Texas Pacific Group came late last week, said the person, who spoke on condition of anonymity. The deal values Harrah's at $16.7 billion. This is the biggest deal to take a public casino company private and ranks as one of the largest leveraged buyouts in history. Harrah's operates 39 casinos nationwide, including Caesars Palace, Bally's and Paris on the Las Vegas Strip, and Caesars and Harrah's in Atlantic City, NJ. By year's end, Harrah's is to acquire all the shares in U.K.-based London Clubs International PLC, which operates seven casinos in the U.K., two in Egypt, one in South Africa and is a consultant for a casino in Lebanon. Harrah's also is pursuing projects in Singapore, the Bahamas, Spain and Slovenia.