Harrah’s Entertainment Inc., the casino operator taken private for $31 billion in 2008 by Apollo Management and TPG Capital, has canceled its IPO due to “market conditions.” Or, put another way, the market wasn’t too fond of Harrah’s condition.
Harrah’s originally filed to raise over $700 million back in August, with proceeds to be used for expansion plans (completing a tower at Ceasers Las Vegas, connecting the Flamingo and Imperial Palace, etc.). No mention of debt reduction, which certainly could be one reason that public market investors balked.
The company never filed an amended S-1 with the SEC that included specific offering terms (at least not that I can find), but did say in a press release that it planned to offer 31.25 million shares at between $15 and $17 per share. At best, such a deal would have generated around $530 million.
Harrah’s has not discussed its future plans — hold, sell or try again later — but bondholders already are beginning to vote with their feet. According to S&P Leveraged Data, all of the company’s debt drifted lower this morning on news of the IPO cancellation.