Caesars gets $400M mortgage loan from Vici, secured by Caesars Forum

Caesars Entertainment announced Friday a $400 million mortgage with a subsidiary of Vici Properties that is secured by the Caesars Forum Conference Center in Las Vegas.

The mortgage had been announced in a letter of intent (LOI) on June 15, 2020. The five-year mortgage will initially bear interest at a rate of 7.7% and will be pre-payable beginning in year three, subject to certain conditions. Caesars explained it may be prepaid earlier in the case that Vici acquires the Caesars Forum Conference Center, subject to Vici's consent. Vici owns the land under several resorts, including Caesars Palace and Harrah’s.

Furthermore, Caesars and Vici have waived the conditionality of the consummation of the mortgage transaction on the consummation of the previously disclosed, potential sale by Caesars to VICI of approximately 23 acres of land in the vicinity of, or adjacent to, The LINQ Hotel + Experience, Bally's Las Vegas, Paris Las Vegas and Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino gaming facilities as initially contemplated by the LOI. The parties said they continue to evaluate the potential transaction involving those lands on the east side of the Las Vegas Strip.

In accordance with the LOI and concurrently with the entry into the mortgage, Caesars and VICI amended and restated the Amended and Restated Put-Call Right Agreement previously in place between Caesars Entertainment Corporation and affiliates of VICI, with certain modifications, including VICI's call option accelerating to 2025.