Aztar prefers bid from Columbia Sussex over rival’s

0 Comments | Philadelphia Inquirer, The, May, 2006 | by Suzette Parmley

The board of Aztar Corp., owner of the Tropicana casinos in Atlantic City and Las Vegas, has declared an all-cash offer of $54 a share from Columbia Sussex superior to a cash-and-stock bid from a rival gambling company.

The offer from Columbia Entertainment, the gambling affiliate of Columbia Sussex Corp., of Fort Mitchell, Ky., was made yesterday. It topped the company's previous all-cash offer of $53 last Wednesday and the cash-and-stock bid of $51 a share for Aztar that Pinnacle made on May 5.

The offer from Columbia, which owns and operates a casino in Laughlin, Nev., and two riverboats in Louisiana and Mississippi, includes a commitment from Credit Suisse to provide $2.9 billion in debt financing.

"We are pleased that the Aztar board has recognized the...