Good start to trading for Caesars Entertaiment online gambling spin-off

Caesars Acquisition Co., the spinoff from Caesars Entertainment Corp. that gives investors a separate stake in the parent company’s online gambling business, debuted on the Nasdaq exchange Tuesday with the share price climbing on its first day of trading.

Caesars offered shareholders the right to buy stock in the subsidiary for $8.64 a share to bolster its balance sheet and highlight what the company sees as growth businesses, the Bloomberg news agency reported, noting that Caesars Acquisition distributed 135.7 million shares to investors, raising $1.17 billion.

Trading eased later in the day, with the shares, which opened for trading at $11.90, closing at $11.05, giving the company a market value of about $1.5 billion.

The company owns a 42 percent interest in Caesars Growth Partners, an entity that owns the Planet Hollywood Casino in Las Vegas, a new casino under construction in Baltimore and most of Caesars Interactive Entertainment, the company’s online gambling unit. Caesars Entertainment retains the rest.

The private-equity firms Apollo Global Management LLC and TPG Capital acquired Caesars in a $30.7 billion leveraged buyout in 2008. The firms, which have been restructuring Caesars’ significant debts since then, have committed $600 million to Caesars Acquisition.

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