The Closing: Gil Dezer
Earlier this week, a federal bankruptcy court ruled in Donald Trump’s favor when it rejected a takeover plan of Trump Entertainment Resorts in Atlantic City by billionaire investor Carl Icahn. The three casinos in question are emerging from their third bankruptcy, and Icahn made an ostensibly better offer: $486 million and the elimination of all of the company’s debt, versus the $225 million and $1.4 billion reduction in debt proposed by Trump. But Trump had something Icahn didn’t — the name. And he was threatening to pull it from the casinos if Icahn took the helm. As The Real Deal publisher Amir Korangy put it, bearing the Trump brand, is “like having the name Awesome… he’s taken it to real estate, fashion, publishing, production, spirits/liquors, resorts, casinos and TV.” Now that the ubiquitous Trump brand has succeeded in winning him back his casinos, will it pay off? [Philadelphia Inquirer]
