LAS VEGAS, Aug. 10, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Caesars
Entertainment Corporation (NASDAQ: CZR) ("Caesars Entertainment" or
"Caesars") today announced that its Board of Directors has
increased its share repurchase authorization to $750 million of the company's outstanding common
stock.
Since announcing the initial $500
million repurchase authorization on May 2, 2018, the company has acquired 23 million
shares of its common stock, which equates to approximately 3.3% of
the company's outstanding shares. The purchases were made at an
average price of $10.22 per share for
a total of $232 million. With today's
increase in authorization, the company has $518 million remaining under its repurchase
program.
"The increased repurchase authorization is a result of our
confidence in the company's operating performance and allows us to
take advantage of current market dynamics and strategically return
cash to shareholders," said Mark
Frissora, President and Chief Executive Officer. "We have
ample capacity to pursue our strategic growth initiatives and
opportunistically execute the buyback. The Board and management are
fully committed to increasing shareholder value."
Caesars Entertainment also announced it does not have immediate
plans to engage in a transaction involving its convertible notes.
In June, the company filed a registration statement to exchange its
convertible notes for the common stock into which they are
convertible plus a cash payment. The company plans to revisit the
transaction at a later date. The company is still targeting a 4.5x
gross leverage by the end of 2021.
Repurchases under the company's share repurchase program may be
made at the company's discretion from time to time on the open
market or in privately negotiated transactions. The repurchase
program has no time limit, does not obligate the company to make
any repurchases and may be suspended for periods or discontinued at
any time. Any shares acquired will be available for general
corporate purposes. Caesars Entertainment intends to finance the
share repurchase program using cash from operations.
About Caesars Entertainment Corporation
Caesars Entertainment is the world's most diversified
casino-entertainment provider and the most geographically diverse
U.S. casino-entertainment company. Since its beginning in
Reno, Nevada, in 1937, Caesars
Entertainment has grown through development of new resorts,
expansions and acquisitions and its portfolio of subsidiaries now
operate 49 casinos in 13 U.S. states and five countries. Caesars
Entertainment's resorts operate primarily under the
Caesars®, Harrah's® and Horseshoe®
brand names. Caesars Entertainment's portfolio also includes the
Caesars Entertainment UK family of casinos. Caesars Entertainment
is focused on building loyalty and value with its guests through a
unique combination of great service, excellent products,
unsurpassed distribution, operational excellence and technology
leadership. Caesars Entertainment is committed to environmental
sustainability and energy conservation and recognizes the
importance of being a responsible steward of the environment. For
more information, please visit www.caesars.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This release includes "forward-looking statements" intended to
qualify for the safe harbor from liability established by the
Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. You can
identify these statements by the fact that they do not relate
strictly to historical or current facts and by the use of words
such as "will" or "anticipated," or the negative or other
variations thereof or comparable terminology. In particular,
they include statements relating to the share repurchase
authorization and the company's plans to engage in a transaction
involving the convertible notes. These forward-looking
statements are based on current expectations and projections about
future events.
You are cautioned that forward-looking statements are not
guarantees of future performance and involve risks and
uncertainties that cannot be predicted or quantified and,
consequently, the actual performance may differ materially from
that expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements.
Such risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to,
Caesars Entertainment's share price, market conditions and
opportunities to deploy capital in higher priority areas, and may
include other factors described from time to time in our reports
filed with the SEC.
You are cautioned to not place undue reliance on these
forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this
document. Caesars Entertainment undertakes no obligation to
publicly update or release any revisions to these forward-looking
statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of
this document or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events,
except as required by law.
CONTACT: Stephen Cohen,
212-886-9332
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SOURCE Caesars Entertainment