Caesars hires Lazard to advise on financial restructuring

Caesars, with more than us$20 billion in debt, has a complicated capital structure, and it has been reported that investment bank Lazard Lode’s role is to work on financial restructuring opportunities for the firm.

Las Vegas-based Caesars, which operates casinos across the U.S. with hubs in Las Vegas and Atlantic City, N.J., was taken private by Apollo Global Management and TPG Capital in a 2008 leveraged buyout. It has struggled to recover fully from the recession and hasn't posted a profit since late 2009.

The company's failure to acquire a gambling license in Macau has also hobbled its ability to compete in that fast-growing market.

Analysts have long said that Caesars's debt load is unsustainable despite continuing efforts from the company to push off a reckoning. Some of its debt is contained in an operating company, while mortgage loans are in a separate subsidiary.

In September 2013, Caesars unveiled plans to raise about us$4.4 billion to refinance its commercial mortgage-backed securities and a us$450 million senior secured credit facility.

The company's private-equity owners have tried a number of strategies to handle its debt, including changing debt agreements while extending maturities. Caesars also did a small initial public offering to try to create a way for some of its equity holders to sell stakes.

In a January regulatory filing, Caesars Acquisition Co. , a holding company formed for a joint venture investment Caesars Entertainment is involved in, said it appointed a new director, Don R. Kornstein, to serve on its audit and human resources committees.

Kornstein has experience working on restructurings and serving as a director of companies that have gone through restructurings, including casino operator Affinity Gaming, gym operator Bally Total Fitness, and consumer electronics company Circuit City Stores Inc., which liquidated in 2009.