Keith Cozza Abruptly Resigns After The Agreement To Merge Eldorado And Caesars

Article by : Helen Aug 3, 2020

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More recently, it became known that Keith Cozza resigned from the Supervisory Board of Caesars Entertainment. This news was preceded by one of the most high-profile and fateful agreements in the US gambling world. This is nothing less than a strategic merger of Eldorado Resorts and Caesars Entertainment. As a result of this partnership, the US market will see the largest gambling operator in history. Straight after the Securities and Exchange Commission announced the signing of the final merger, Keith Cozza suddenly announced his resignation without giving any reason.

The CEO of Icahn Enterprises informed that he had made a final and irrevocable decision to step down.

At the same time, according to the head of the supervisory board’s statements, this news was completely unexpected. He also informed this has nothing to do with any conflict or disagreement regarding the company’s future policy. It is worth noting that Keith Cozza was one of 3 representatives from Icahn Enterprises on the Caesars supervisory board. At the same time, 83-year-old billionaire Carl Icahn owns the most substantial stake among all shareholders since 2019. Moreover, he played a crucial role in the merger of the two most significant brands. As of today, he remains the largest shareholder in the newly formed gambling giant.

Carl Celian Icahn is a well-known personality in the world of business and the stock market. Competitors do not like him, colleagues admire him, and friends respect and envy at the same time. Everyone has a different attitude towards this person, and everyone has a reason for this. But the fact that an ordinary boy from the weakest area of New York was able to become a self-made billionaire on his own deserves respect.

After the successful news of the final merger, Keith Cozza was most likely to leave his post without hindrance after the completion of the merger negotiations, which lasted about 15 months. However, it is still unknown who will replace Cozza in his position anytime soon. Meanwhile, two other representatives of Icahn Enterprises, namely Courtney Mather and James Nelson, will remain as representatives on the supervisory board of the merged Eldorado Resorts and Caesars Entertainment.

Caesars CEO Tom Reeg has previously stated that the company’s top priority is to reduce operating costs gradually. According to the senior manager, the new brand will need to be cut up to $500 million. It will most likely have to be done by closing some land-based casinos, the list of which has already been determined. According to the CEO, this process will be simple enough and will subsequently affect the faster growth of income indicators.

The newly created company currently owns over 55 gambling establishments around the world. What’s more, the total amount of the deal, which was concluded between the two largest US operators, is $17.3 billion. Besides, by increasing its scale and influence, the platform plans to carry out large-scale diversification and get rid of some of the assets.

This is primarily due to the legislation of some states, which prevents the creation of a monopoly position in the US market. Recall that initially, the first steps in the gambling market for Caesars Entertainment Corporation were taken by the legendary Bill Harrah in Reno, Nevada, in 1937. Anyway, now, the future of the US gambling market will largely be determined by the newly created company and its strategic vision for the development of the entertainment business. The company already stated that it has a clear development strategy, though only time will tell which will come true.