Caesars Entertainment Corp. And Current And Future Subsidiary Ratings On CreditWatch Positive
View Analyst Contact Information
- Caesars Entertainment Corp.'s subsidiary, Caesars Entertainment Operating
Co. (CEOC), recently received bankruptcy court confirmation of a
restructuring plan that we believe will put in place a more sustainable
longer-term capital structure and provides a path for CEOC to emerge from
bankruptcy over the coming quarters.
- We are placing our ratings on Caesars Entertainment Corp. (including
subsidiary Caesars Entertainment Resort Properties) and Chester Downs and
Marina on CreditWatch with positive implications.
- We are revising the CreditWatch implications on our ratings on Caesars
Growth Properties Parent LLC to positive from negative.
- In resolving the CreditWatch listing, we plan to analyze the planned
post-emergence organizational and capital structure, which could result
in a favorable reassessment of the consolidated credit profile of, and
higher ratings on, the new Caesars Entertainment, including CEOC's gaming
operations, CERP, Caesars Growth, and Chester Downs.
NEW YORK (S&P Global Ratings) Jan. 24, 2017--S&P Global Ratings today placed
its ratings on Caesars Entertainment Corp. (CZR) (including subsidiary Caesars
Entertainment Resort Properties LLC; CERP) and Chester Downs and Marina LLC on
CreditWatch with positive implications. We also revised the CreditWatch
implications on our rating on Caesars Growth Properties Parent LLC (CGPP) to
positive from negative.
Our rating on Caesars Entertainment Operating Co. Inc. (CEOC), which is in
Chapter 11 bankruptcy, remains 'D'. We also discontinued our 'D' ratings on
CEOC's debt because we are unlikely to raise these ratings in the future since
this debt will be refinanced with new debt CEOC plans to raise over the near
term as part of its emergence from bankruptcy.
"The positive CreditWatch listings reflect bankruptcy court confirmation and
lender support of the restructuring plan that would put in place a long-term
capital structure that we believe is more sustainable by reducing consolidated
debt levels by roughly $10 billion," said S&P Global credit analyst Ariel
Silverberg. "In addition, we believe it is now unlikely that CZR, CERP, CGPP,
or Chester Downs will be pulled into a restructuring as a result of the
ongoing bankruptcy of CEOC, CZR's largest and most leveraged subsidiary," she
added.
Furthermore, the reorganization plan would eliminate existing litigation risk
relating to the release of the parent guarantee and various asset transfer and
financing transactions as the petitioners have agreed to dismiss these claims
as part of the plan. CZR agreed to contribute approximately $5 billion to the
restructuring, including proceeds from the sale of Caesars Interactive's
social and mobile games business in September 2016 and a dilution of the
sponsors' equity ownership in CZR, which largely addresses the potential
damages that had been cited in the examiner's report resulting from the
various contested transactions.
In resolving the CreditWatch listing, we plan to analyze the planned
post-emergence organizational and capital structure, which could result in a
favorable reassessment of the consolidated credit profile of, and higher
ratings on, the new Caesars Entertainment, including CEOC's gaming operations,
CERP, Caesars Growth, and Chester Downs. We will monitor the company's
progress toward a CEOC emergence from bankruptcy, including its progress
toward completing the various financing transactions needed for emergence as
well as its progress in securing the required regulatory approvals. Once we
can confidently conclude that CEOC will successfully emerge as outlined, we
will likely raise the corporate credit rating several notches into the 'B'
rating category.