Eldorado Resorts and Caesars mull over merger

US casino operators Eldorado Resorts Inc. and Caesars Entertainment Corp are in the early stages of discussion on a possible merger, according to sources familiar with the matter.

Caesars has recently agreed to allocate billionaire investor Carl Icahn, who has been pushing the company to sell itself, three board seats to his representatives, and a say on the selection of its next chief executive officer.

Caesars is providing some limited confidential financial information to Eldorado, which is carrying out due diligence on the potential combination of the two companies, the sources said.

Eldorado has yet to make a binding offer for Caesars, and there is no certainty any bid will materialise or that a deal will be successfully negotiated, the sources added, asking not to be identified because the matter is confidential.

Caesars and Eldorado have market capitalizations of $5.4 billion and $3.6 billion, respectively. They also had debt piles of $9.1 billion and $3.3 billion, respectively, as of the end of December.

Caesars declined to comment, while Eldorado did not immediately respond to a request for comment.