Harrah’s Suitors to Increase Bid

Harrah’s Entertainment, the U.S. casino giant and owner of the World Series of Poker brand, saw its share price inch up in early trading Tuesday, as word came out that the private equity firms interested in purchasing the company will soon be increasing their bid.

The bid is coming from the original team looking to purchase Harrah’s, Apollo Management and Texas Pacific Group. Their original offer back in October was $81 per share, which has since increased to $83.50. Industry sources say the new bid will be for $87 per share, or $16 billion. For comparison, Harrah’s shares were trading at around $80 Tuesday morning.

The Harrah’s board of directors has set a deadline of today for all offers, as this possible buyout has been looming for two months, and plans to meet Wednesday to discuss any deals.

Penn National Gaming Inc. has also shown interest in acquiring Harrah’s, but since Penn is much smaller than its target, it would not be able to purchase Harrah’s with cash only. Instead, it would be a combination cash and stock offer.

Originally published December 12, 2006