November 09, 2010

Hail Caesar! Harrah’s re-brands ahead of IPO

US gaming giant Harrah’s Entertainment Inc. has set the price range for its initial public offering on Nasdaq, in the process dropping the Harrah’s brand as its corporate name.

Harrah’s is set to list 31.25m shares on the Nasdaq Global Select Market at an estimated price range of $15.00 to $17.00 per share, bringing in estimated proceeds of between $469m and $531m which the company said will be used for general corporate purposes and to fund a near-term pipeline of growth projects.

The company’s shares will be listed under the stock symbol CZR, reflecting the new corporate name Caesars Entertainment Corp.

Caesars is Harrah’s flagship brand which it acquired in 2005 and the corporate name change is designed to leverage the strength of that brand which is seen as more prestigious, particularly in international markets where the company hopes to achieve a substantial part of its future growth.

Harrah’s has identified a number of opportunities which could help drive future growth including the liberalisations and legalisation of casino gambling both abroad and at home, and the continuing legalisation of online gambling.

The company is already present online in the UK under the Caesars and WSOP brands and also in the US with a free-play WSOP poker site.

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