Caesars Sells Casinos to Affiliate for $2.2 Billion

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The owner of the largest number of U.S. casinos, Caesars Entertainment Corp., has agreed to sell four properties to an affiliate for $2.2 billion, as the company works to restructure its debt.

Caesars is selling Bally's, The Cromwell and The Quad in Las Vegas, as well as the Harrah's New Orleans to the affiliate Caesars Growth Partners, according to a company statement.

"Today's asset sales mark an important step in our ongoing efforts to repair CEOC's balance sheet," Gary Loveman, chairman and chief executive officer of Caesars Entertainment, said in the announcement. "Caesars Entertainment and Caesars Acquisition Company have a combined equity market capitalization of more than $5 billion."

With the latest deal, Caesars Entertainment Operating Co., the company's largest subsidiary, has more than $3 billion in cash, a portion of which the company plans to use to reduce bank debt.

Caesars Growth was created in 2013 to assist in debt reduction. The parent company owns 58 percent of the company, while Caesars Acquisition Co., a publicly-traded company created last year, owns 42 percent, Bloomberg reports