WEBVTT - Bloomberg's Church on Caesars Facing Bondholder Lawsuits(Audio)

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<v Speaker 1>This is taking stock with pim Box and Kathleen Hayes

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<v Speaker 1>on Bloomberg Radio. Caesar's Entertainment It's number three eight on

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<v Speaker 1>the Fortune five hundred this year. Once the fast growing

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<v Speaker 1>star of the gaming industry, Caesar's is now a mess.

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<v Speaker 1>It is the site of a battle between some very

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<v Speaker 1>big and powerful buyout firms and some very big and

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<v Speaker 1>powerful hedgephones, or the outcome of a January fifteen bankruptcy filing.

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<v Speaker 1>In fact, today Caesar's Entertainment Corps telling the most in

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<v Speaker 1>more than a year after judge ruled that it must

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<v Speaker 1>face bond holder lawsuits that could force it into bankruptcy.

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<v Speaker 1>Alongside its main operating a unit joining us now is

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<v Speaker 1>Stephen Church, bankruptcy reporter for Bloomberg News in Welmington, Delaware. Steve, welcome, Thanks,

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<v Speaker 1>good to be here. So first step, why, why why

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<v Speaker 1>did Caesar's Entertainment stumble so badly? And why has the

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<v Speaker 1>bankruptcy become such a battle. Well, they had a buy

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<v Speaker 1>out several years ago, I think it was two thousand

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<v Speaker 1>eight or so that added a lot of debt. They

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<v Speaker 1>took the company private and the company simply hasn't been

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<v Speaker 1>able to keep up with those debt payments. Over the years,

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<v Speaker 1>they've made several attempts to restructure, and finally in two

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<v Speaker 1>thousand fifteen last year, Caesar's put its main operating unit

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<v Speaker 1>into bankruptcy. Now you have two units. Now you have

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<v Speaker 1>two Caesars. Really, you have a Caesar's it's publicly traded,

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<v Speaker 1>that is still not in bankruptcy, and then you have

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<v Speaker 1>its main operating unit, which is struggling with creditors. That's

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<v Speaker 1>created a mess that they're trying to sort out in

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<v Speaker 1>two courts, in bankruptcy court in Chicago and in courts

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<v Speaker 1>in Delaware and New York. Give us in a nutshell,

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<v Speaker 1>what's one side arguing against the other. Bottom line is

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<v Speaker 1>the some uh Second Lean bond holders believe that the

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<v Speaker 1>non bankrupt company, Caesar's Entertainment Corps, should pay the debts

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<v Speaker 1>of the bankrupt company, and the Caesar's Entertainment based in

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<v Speaker 1>Las Vegas, has said no, we we legally and legitimately

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<v Speaker 1>shed those debts and we no longer are responsible for

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<v Speaker 1>paying the it's more than five billion dollars in Second

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<v Speaker 1>Lean debt. The court in New York is ready tomorrow

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<v Speaker 1>to hear final arguments about who's right on that issue. Okay,

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<v Speaker 1>and uh, what what is the latest ruling in terms

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<v Speaker 1>of its import and what it tells us next? Absolutely,

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<v Speaker 1>the latest ruling came out of Chicago bankruptcy court, where

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<v Speaker 1>a judge said, go ahead, bondholders, you can sue in

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<v Speaker 1>New York and move forward in New York and try

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<v Speaker 1>to win. The reason that has upset the shareholders and

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<v Speaker 1>Caesar's is they think they might lose Caesar's Caesar's and

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<v Speaker 1>might lose this case in New York, and which case

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<v Speaker 1>the parent company could join the operating unit in bankruptcy,

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<v Speaker 1>and in shareholders in that case are much more likely

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<v Speaker 1>to be wiped out. How much money is it stake?

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<v Speaker 1>And you know, could all this uh you know actually

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<v Speaker 1>force the company to go completely under? I mean it

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<v Speaker 1>could because Caesar's Caesar's um overall value is only a

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<v Speaker 1>couple of billion dollars. The non bankrupt company to Las Vegas,

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<v Speaker 1>Company's only worth a couple of billion dollars. When you

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<v Speaker 1>look at what it's market capts, it's facing liabilities that

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<v Speaker 1>are at least five billion, possibly as much as eleven

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<v Speaker 1>billion dollars depending on how the courts in Delaware and

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<v Speaker 1>New York rule, all that debt could come crashing down

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<v Speaker 1>onto the parent company, and there's just no way. Everyone admits,

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<v Speaker 1>Caesar's admits, and all of the bondlers admit, there's no

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<v Speaker 1>way that that that Caesar's could pay that debt and

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<v Speaker 1>remain solvent. Stephen Church, thank you so much for just

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<v Speaker 1>a masterful wrap up of what's going on with Caesar's Entertainment.

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<v Speaker 1>He's bankruptcy reporter for Bloomberg News in Wilmington, Delaware,