carl icahn

Trump Beats Icahn In A Battle Over Atlantic City Casinos

Filed under: Wealth

Big money titans Donald Trump and Carl Icahn have been battling for control of the Trump properties in Atlantic City for a while. At one point it looked like Icahn might have the advantage but a judge has ruled that Trump and his partners represent the better deal for creditors of the bankrupt Trump Entertainment Resorts Inc., when a judge. According to Bloomberg News, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Judith H. Wizmur sided with the bondholders who are owed $1.2 billion. Their proposal included giving Trump a share of his Atlantic City company.

Icahn had been hoping to take over the company and had purchased $480 million in bank debt from banker Andy Beal. In his plan the debt would have been converted to equity, wiping out the bondholders. The winning plan included a promise by billionaire Marc Lasry of Avenue Capital Group to invest $225 million in Trump Entertainment. Under the bondholder plan that $480 million will be reduced by at least $100 million and the rest would be wrapped up in a new bank loan.

The judge went for the bondholder plan partially because it had more support from creditors. Another factor may have been Trump himself. Trump had vowed to take his name off the project if Icahn gained control. There have been a lot of lawsuits and a lot of debate about the value of the Trump name lately but the bondholders determined that the name itself as a brand is worth millions. But don't feel too sorry for Icahn, he still has that unfinished Vegas project, the Fontainebleau to keep him busy.

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Tags: atlantic city, atlantic city casino, carl icahn, donald trump, NJ, Trump Casinos, trump entertainment, Trump Entertainment Resorts

Carl Icahn Joins Trump Casino Takeover Plan

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

I thought the story of banker Andy Beal's battle against Donald Trump for control of the Trump Atlantic City casinos was pretty exciting before but it just got a hell of a lot more interesting. Billionaire investor Carl Icahn, who I most recently mentioned for his interest in the stalled Fontainebleau project, has stepped into the action. The NY Post reports that he made a deal to buy a majority of the outstanding first-lien bank debt from Beal, who holds $486 million in first-mortgage liens on the casinos. Icahn has thrown his lot in with Beal to try and revive the Trump casino empire which has filed for bankruptcy several times. This puts Icahn and Beal in direct opposition to Trump and his daughter Ivanka who have thrown their support behind a group of noteholders led by Marc Lasry, who hold roughly $1.25 billion in unsecured debt.

The Post article questions whether this is a personal batlle, after all, Trump and Beal were playing nicely together until November when Trump swung his approval over to Lasry's camp in return for a stake in their version of the restructured company. If, as the article, says Beal was feeling vulnerable to criticism that he lacked casino experience then he's got a very experienced ally in Icahn who has a history of buying bankrupt casinos (including the Stratosphere in Las Vegas) and selling them for big profits. For Trump, there's both pride and money at stake, and neither Icahn or Trump is accustomed to losing so this could be a business battle royale.

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Tags: andy beal, AndyBeal, atlantic city, AtlanticCity, bilionaire, carl icahn, CarlIcahn, donald trump, DonaldTrump, trump

Will Carl Icahn Rescue The Fontainebleau?

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

I've been following the fate of the Fontainebleau Las Vegas casino resort for a while now. It looks like the stalled project may have a new savior in the form of billionaire investor Carl Icahn. Icahn's Icahn Nevada Gaming LLC will be the opening or 'stalking horse' bidder in an auction of the resort after Penn National Gaming Inc. dropped out. Bloomberg News reports on the bidding war in court which led to Icahn offering $105 million, plus $51.5 million in debtor-in-possession financing besting Penn's offer of a total of $145 million. This means that the Icahn bid will be the one to beat.

The planned complex on the Las Vegas Strip is about 70 percent complete. It filed for bankruptcy in June and may cost around $1.5 billion to finish. Fontainebleau's sellers have asked U.S. Bankruptcy Judge A. Jay Cristol in Miami to auction the casino on January 21. Penn National Gaming had planned to finish Fontainebleau with an unidentified partner and to use the company's database of casino customers to help fill the casino with consumers. Icahn has a history of buying bankrupt casinos (including the Stratosphere in Las Vegas) and selling them for big profits. His entry into the fray may increase interest in the January auction and help ensure that someone eventually buys the casino and finishes the project.

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Tags: carl icahn, CarlIcahn, casino, fontainebleau, las vegas, las vegas strip, LasVegas, LasVegasStrip