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The Las Vegas Review Journal is reporting that Harrah's is buying Planet Hollywood, or at least its debt. Analysts, however, believe that this move could be the precursor to Harrah's outright purchase of Planet Hollywood.
From the Las Vegas Review Journal:
Sources confirmed this weekend that Harrah's has purchased a portion of the $860 million debt load that is leveraged against the property.
Officials from Harrah's and Planet Hollywood Resort declined to comment Monday.
Brian Gordon, a principal at Applied Analysis, told the LVRJ that Harrah's looks to be following a recent trend of purchasing debts prior to an actual acquisition.
"With covenant and debt defaults looming around for some of these properties, it's a potential way to gain eventual ownership of a property," Gordon said.
The practice has been used successfully in the past locally, most recently when the Tropicana on the Strip was acquired in bankruptcy court.
Planet Hollywood was originally a theme restaurant started in 1992 and inspired by the Hollywood pop culture and backed by top celebrities including now Governor of California Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada had its grand opening the weekend of November 16, 2007, replacing the Aladdin Hotel & Casino. A deal has been signed for the hotel to be operated by Starwood Hotel and Resorts Worldwide.
Jagajeet Chiba, Gambling911.com
