Phil Ruffin wants to buy Caesars’ Strip properties
The owner of Treasure Island revealed his interest in acquiring Caesars Entertainment Corp. properties on the Las Vegas Strip.
US.- Caesars Entertainment Corp’s properties on the Las Vegas Strip have attracted interest from several companies. While many won’t voice their intentions, Treasure Island owner Phil Ruffin revealed he has a “strong interest” in them.
“They have some great locations and we would have a strong interest,” Ruffin said, as quoted by the Las Vegas Review Journal. “We don’t have any debt and so we could borrow a lot of money if we found the right deal.”
Ruffin assured he’d be able to borrow as much money as six times a property’s cash flow. He also stated he is primarily interested in venues generating annual cash flow of US$200-US$300 million.
According to SunTrust Robinson Humphrey analyst Barry Jonas, Ruffin would need at least US$2 billion to do so. He explained Strip properties should be able to fetch valuations equivalent to at least 10 times their cash flow.
“While we’ve looked at Caesars sales scenarios with individual companies like Eldorado assuming just regional asset divestitures, anything is possible in regards to individual Caesars assets in Las Vegas also changing hands. We would consider Mr Ruffin to be a qualified buyer,” Jonas said.
