Caesars Entertainment Corp.’s operating unit filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Thursday to implement its plan to cut $10 billion of debt, according to a Reuters report. The proposed transactions would reduce the operating unit’s debt to $8.6 billion from $18.4 billion, the article states. Annual interest expense would be reduced by approximately 75 percent, from approximately $1.7 billion to approximately $450 million. The bankruptcy filing culminates months of contentious negotiations and financial maneuvers that Caesars has said were aimed at freeing up cash for the operating unit, Reuters said. Under the plan, the unit will separate virtually all of its U.S.-based gaming operating assets and real property assets in two companies: an operating entity and a newly formed, publicly-traded real estate investment trust.
