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Trump Casinos' Buyer Search Comes Up Dry

ATLANTIC CITY-Trump Entertainment cancels its attempt to find a buyer after acquisition talks turn fruitless.

By Sean Ryan | Updated on July 02, 2007

ATLANTIC CITY-Trump Entertainment Resorts has pulled its three casinos off the table, after being unable to find a sufficient buyer.

“None of the indications of interest received to date for the acquisition of the company represented or was likely to lead to a transaction that was in the best interests for the company and its shareholders,” Trump Entertainment says in a statement.

The previous talks with the still-unnamed buyers have concluded unsuccessfully. There are no current talks with anyone else. Shares of the company have plummeted from the news, losing going from $12.58 a share down to $10.05, before a small bounce back to $10.49 by the end of the day Monday.

Although Donald Trump has no operating control over Trump Entertainment, his “You’re fired!” line has been used recently, with two executives have been given the axe. Paul B. Keller, executive vice president of design and construction, and Virginia McDowell, executive vice president and CIO, have been cut from the payroll, for what the company says are cost-saving measures.

Existing EVP Robert M. Pickus has been bumped up to chief administrative officer, a new position for Trump Entertainment.

As GlobeSt.com reported in May, the company had interest of parties looking to buy the troubled casinos. Trump Entertainment had brought on Merrill Lynch as financial advisor and Kirkland & Ellis as legal advisor to weigh the options of a sale.

Trump Entertainment’s three casinos–Trump Taj Mahal, Trump Plaza and Trump Marina–are a separate entity from the rest of the Trump holdings. The Taj Mahal is in the midst of getting a new 786-room tower constructed for it, as well as capital upgrades to existing properties.

Trump Entertainment Resorts has not been dealt good cards recently. In February, a possible joint venture between Trump Entertainment and Diamondhead Casino Corp. for the construction of a casino on New Orleans’ outskirts was nixed. Trump Entertainment also lost out on a chance to develop a casino in Philadelphia last year.

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