NEWS
16 May 2016
Caesars Interactive Entertainment could be sold for around $4bn
By David Cook
ars Entertainment is reportedly considering selling its Caesars Interactive Entertainment (CIE) online arm.

According to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), groups among those that may be interested in purchasing the division are financial companies and gaming, media and entertainment businesses.

Bloomberg reported that bids of approximately $4bn have been made, but an agreement to sell is not yet assured.

Caesars recently reported that CIE’s net revenues for the three months ended 31 March were $228m, up 29% year-on-year, while its full year 2015 net revenues were $766m, an upturn of 31%.

CIE, formed in 2009, operates its WSOP.com brand in New Jersey and Nevada, but the WSJ claims that the deal could be centred on CIE’s mobile-games business, which is what Caesars put CIE’s growth down to in its Q1 2016 report.

Mitch Garber, CEO of CIE, was quoted by the WSJ as saying: “We want to hear what people have to say, for sure.”

A potential sale could form part of the restructuring that Caesars is undergoing, after Caesars Entertainment Operating Company (CEOC) filed for bankruptcy in January last year, and Bloomberg reported that CEOC creditors claim the interactive unit was transferred from them at a lower valuation than it was worth.

Robert E. Gerber, a former Manhattan bankruptcy court judge, was announced as chief restructuring officer earlier this month.