Harrah's registers Paulson stock with SEC
New York hedge fund intends to sell US$700m stake in world's largest casino operator as soon as possible.
Harrah’s Entertainment has asked US federal regulators for permission to publicly trade its shares that are controlled by Paulson & Co, only two months after the hedge fund became a major investor in the casino operator.
The Las Vegas-based company told the Securities and Exchange Commission that New York-based hedge fund Paulson & Co. Inc. intends to sell its stake as soon as possible.
Paulson & Co took a 9.9% equity stake in Harrah’s in early June this year at a time when several hedge funds began circling the egaming sector ahead of US regulation.
As part of the deal, the hedge fund run by billionaire John Paulson, who famously made US$20 billion betting against subprime mortgages in 2007 and 2008, said it would provide a cash infusion of US$351 million for US$532m debt owned by a Harrah’s subsidiary, according to the Wall Street Journal, equating to a 9.9% stake.
The SEC form used to register the shares, called an S-1, is the same one used as the first step toward an initial public offering, or IPO however the registration does not necessarily mean those shares will be sold on public markets. The decision to trade Harrah’s shares publicly rests with company management, which has indicated no immediate plans to do so.
Harrah’s spokeswoman Jacqueline Peterson said in an email that the company was in a quiet period and could not discuss the matter in detail, the Wall Street Journal reported. She denied reports that Harrah’s was planning to go public two years after the company was taken private by private equity firms Apollo Global Management and TPG Capital in a deal valued at $29 billion. Both companies retain their combined 89.3% stake in Harrah’s.
In February this year however, Harrah’s chief executive Gary Loveman declared his intention to take the company public again but said it would first need to wait for the economy to recover and for online poker to be legalised in the US.
Harrah’s operates 52 casinos in seven countries, has nine casinos along the Las Vegas Strip, the World Series of Poker and an online gaming business in the UK.