Caesars Entertainment has completed the sale of the Octavius Tower to real-estate investment trust VICI Properties for $507.5m.
The property will be leased back to Caesars for $35m per year.
VICI, a spinoff company of Caesars Entertainment Corp., announced it will also finalise the acquisition of the Harrah’s Philadelphia property from Caesars in the final quarter of 2018, for $82.5m.
Mark Frissora, President and CEO of Caesars Entertainment, said: “These agreements with VICI unlock more than $500m in value from our real-estate assets to support value-adding growth opportunities and reduce the volatility of our future rent payments, demonstrating our commitment to create value for our shareholders while maintaining financial discipline."
VICI and Caesars are working to modify the lease agreement for Harrah’s Philadelphia property, which they hope will bring the lease into alignment with other market precedents and the long-term performance of the properties.
VICI initially spun Caesars Entertainment Operating Co. in 2017 after the company managed to escape Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
The Octavius Tower transaction was closed on July 11, and proceeds from this transaction will support the finalisation of Caesars' acquisition of Centaur Holdings LLC, which is expected to take place later this month.
