MGM's New CFO Had a Hand in Tanking Caesars
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Jonathan Halkyard was named as the new chief financial officer of MGM Resorts International. He has experience in mergers and acquisitions. MGM's $11 billion takeover bid for London-based Entain PLC was rejected this week. Entains owns Ladbrokes, BWin and more than 3,000 Coral retail betting outlets in the UK.
Halkyard has been in the gaming industry for 13 years. He was the chief financial officer of Harrah's from 2006 to 2013. In 2008, he helped orchestrate the Harrares buy out by Apollo Global Management and TPG. The deal was worth $30 billion. Halk Yard oversaw the transition and was responsible for more than $200 million in cost-cutting initiatives.
He is not necessarily a blocking and tackling CFO, but more about complicated circumstances.
MGM's new CFO had a hand in tanking Caesars. Caeres-Private Equity Partnership went south within a year of acquisition. In 2015, Caesears Entertainment filed for federal bankruptcy protection. Two years and $18 billion in debt restructuring later, the company emerged from bankruptcy proceedings. Caerse's CEO Mark Frissora said in January 2017 that the firm will be positioned to strengthen its financial and operational performance by pursuing new opportunities.
Carl Icahn and Hamlet Holdings bought 36.7 million shares of Caesars Entertainment for $323 million. Caeres bought William Hill for £3.6 billion in September.
Jonathan Halkyard will replace Corey Sanders as CFO of MGM Resorts. He will report directly to MGM CEO Bill Hornbuckle. Entain saw its shares soar this week in the wake of playing hard-to-get.
