TALKING POINT/CAESARS WORLD <CAW>
<MTS Acquisition Corp's>
28-dlr-per-share offering price for Caesars World Inc is
thought to be much too low and is likely to attract other
suitors for the hotel/casino company, industry analysts said.
"I think someone else will probably come in, or they (MTS)
will have to raise their bid," said Marvin Roffman, an analyst
at Janney Montgomery Scott Inc.
MTS, a company formed by Martin Sosnoff, Caesars World's
largest shareholder, today began a tender offer, valued at
725.2 mln dlrs, for all shares Sosnoff doesn't already own.
"I think the offer is too low by at least five points,"
said Roffman, who described Caesars World as the operator of
"one of the finest casinos in the world."
Sosnoff, a New York investor, already owns 13.3 pct of
Caesars World's 30.3 mln shares.
Following news of the tender offer Caesars World's shares
were trading at 27-7/8, up 3-3/8.
A Caesars World spokesman said the company was declining
comment on the Sosnoff move for the moment, but Caesars may
issue a public statement after it has studied the offer.
Roffman said Caesars World has considerable growth
potential and he is forecasting fiscal 1988 earnings of two
dlrs per share.
Caesars World owns casino hotels in Nevada and honeymoon
resorts in Pennsylvania's Pocono Mountains. It also controls
Caesars New Jersey Inc <CJN>, which owns an Atlantic City,
N.J., casino hotel.
For its fiscal year ended July 31 Caesars World reported
net income of 41 mln dlrs, or 1.36 dlrs per primary share.
The company reported second quarter net income of 12.6 mln
dlrs, or 41 cts per share, compared with income of 7.5 mln
dlrs, or 25 cts per share a year earlier.
Daniel Lee, an analyst at Drexel Burnham Lambert Inc, said
that although Sosnoff's relatively low bid may attract other
suitors willing to pay a higher price for Caesars, there is
little likelihood that a competing bid would start a battle for
the company.