Second of Icahn’s three representatives resigns from Caesars Entertainment board

October 23, 2020 9:27 PM
  • Howard Stutz, CDC Gaming Reports
October 23, 2020 9:27 PM
  • Howard Stutz, CDC Gaming Reports

Three months after corporate raider Carl Icahn sold the bulk of his ownership stake in Caesars Entertainment, a second of his three representatives resigned his seat on the casino company’s board.

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In a Securities and Exchange Commission filing Friday afternoon, the company said James Nelson resigned from the board, effective immediately.

The departure of Nelson, a board member of Icahn Enterprises, “was not the result of any disagreement with the company on any matter relating to the company’s operations, policies or practices,” Caesars said in the filing.

In late July, Keith Cozza, the CEO of Icahn Enterprises, resigned his seat on the Caesars board. That same month, Icahn – the 84-year-old billionaire and an activist investor – sold roughly 10% of his stake in the company. At the time, he retained less than 2% of his original holdings.

Icahn acquired more than 17% of Caesars stock starting in late 2018 – and controlled up to 25% – in order to force a sale of the casino company to rival Eldorado Resorts in a $17.3 billion deal. The transaction closed in July, more than a year after it was first announced, and created the largest casino company in the U.S. with 55 properties worldwide in 16 states.

The new company retained the Caesars Entertainment name and stock symbol and is overseen by the former Eldorado’s management team.

Nelson, Cozza, and Icahn Capital fund manager Courtney Mather were added to Caesars’ board in March 2019, prior to the merger’s announcement in June 2019. The three became part of the board of the combined company.

Mather is still a member of the Caesars board, which currently has nine members.

Shares of Caesars, traded on the Nasdaq, closed at $54.69 Friday, up 56 cents or 1.03%.

Howard Stutz is the executive editor of CDC Gaming Reports. He can be reached at hstutz@cdcgaming.com. Follow @howardstutz on Twitter.