Casino operator Eldorado Resorts has secured approval from the Louisiana Gaming Control Board to proceed with its pending acquisition of Caesars Entertainment Corporation.
Announced in June last year, Eldorado agreed to acquire Caesars in a deal worth $17.3bn, subject to certain regulatory approvals.
Clearance by the Louisiana Gaming Control Board was one of several conditions of the deal, and the approval means Eldorado takes a step closer to completing the acquisition.
Eldorado expects to finalise the acquisition during the first half of 2020, subject to all required regulatory approvals and other closing conditions.
Last month, Missouri’s gaming commission also gave its approval to the deal, while shareholders of both Eldorado and Caesars separately voted to approve certain actions in connection with the proposed merger, with over 99% of all votes cast in favour of the transaction.
Should the deal go through, the combined business would run around 60 casino resorts and gaming facilities across 16 states.
It is set to operate in Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Nevada, New Jersey, Ohio, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina and Pennsylvania.
Eldorado expects to achieve around $500m in synergies in the first year after the deal’s completion, with Eldorado shareholders to hold 51% of the combined entity’s outstanding shares.