Financing committed for Caesars deal

Thursday, July 15, 1999 | 3:47 a.m.

Park Place hosted a two-day Las Vegas gathering of bankers this week, which included a presentation about the Caesars World acquisition from Starwood Hotels & Resorts.

"We're very pleased that the commercial bank market has enthusiastically endorsed this transaction in committing $3 billion, which ensures that we can close the Caesars transaction in the fourth quarter," Park Place Chief Financial Officer Scott LaPorta said Wednesday.

The deal would give the Hilton Hotels Corp. gaming spinoff the most hotel rooms, the most casino space and the greatest cash flow level in the gaming industry, with five properties - including Caesars Palace.

The 33-year-old Caesars Palace also would give Park Place, which owns the Flamingo Hilton and Bally's, control of three of the four corners at Flamingo Road, the Strip's busiest intersection.

Terms of the financing agreement call for two 12-month bank lines - one for $2 billion and a second for $1 billion. The lines would carry interest rates of about 6 1/4 to 6 1/2 percent, depending upon the rates available when the financing is set.

The lead banks in the multibank syndicate are Bank of America, Deutsche Bank, Bank of Nova Scotia and the Wall Street investment banking firm of Merrill Lynch.

Park Place executives would later issue bonds on the public debt market to refinance the acquisition.

In addition to Caesars Palace, Park Place would acquire Caesars Palace-Lake Tahoe; Caesars Atlantic City; a casino in Tunica, Miss.; an Indiana riverboat; and a 50 percent share of a Windsor, Ontario, casino that it would co-own with Hilton Hotels Corp.