Carl Icahn reportedly owns sizable stake in Caesars, sending shares soaring

Activist investor Carl Icahn has a sizable position in casino operator Caesars Entertainment, Bloomberg News reported Friday citing sources familiar with the matter.

Shares of the company jumped 15% after the report.

The size of Icahn’s stake in the company could not be learned, the report added.

The casino operator, which runs Caesars Atlantic City and Caesars Palace, missed market expectations for first-quarter results, offset by low table hold in its Las Vegas segment.

In February 2019, the billionaire investor, after disclosing a 9.78% stake in the company, had urged Caesars to sell itself.

Icahn’s push for the company’s sale came after Caesars had rejected a merger approach in 2018 by Tilman Fertitta, the billionaire owner of Golden Nugget Casinos.

The activist investor had said at the time that he was seeking board representation at Caesars, including the nomination of a slate of directors at the company’s annual general meeting in 2019.

Months after Caesars struck a deal with Icahn and three new directors were appointed to its board, Eldorado Resorts agreed to buy rival Caesars Entertainment for about $8.5 billion in cash and stock.

Icahn had said he was “pleased” with the announcement of the deal.

Following the completion of the merger in July 2020, the combined company decided to retain the name as Caesars to capitalize on the value of the iconic global brand.

In 2020, Icahn disclosed in a filing that he dissolved his stake in the company.

Caesars and representatives for Icahn did not immediately respond to Reuters’ requests for comment.