Caesars Entertainment to Buy Affiliate in Move to Reduce Debt

LAS VEGAS (Associated Press) — Caesars Entertainment Corporation says it will buy an affiliate as it tries to smooth the reorganization of a struggling division and balance its debt load.

The Las Vegas casino giant says the merger with Caesars Acquisition Company will give it $1.7 billion in cash it needs to guarantee loans in a proposed bankruptcy deal it's pitched to creditors of its debt-heavy operating division.

The announcement follows news Friday that the corporation had a signed plan with some of its Caesars Entertainment Operating Company creditors to file for bankruptcy by mid-January and reorganize its finances without visitors to its hotel-casinos noticing a difference.

A financial analyst says it's another step in an effort to appeal to creditors to avoid a lengthy bankruptcy.