Icahn weighs $100M bid to save Taj Mahal casino
September 30, 2014  03:02
Billionaire Carl Icahn is considering spending $100 million to save the Trump Taj Mahal casino from closing.

But the offer comes with considerable strings attached: Icahn is willing to consider the bailout "if and only if" he gets big givebacks from the casino workers' union, steep tax breaks from Atlantic City and county, and USD 25 million in funds from a New Jersey agency, according to his attorney. 

In a filing to a bankruptcy court, the Taj Mahal's parent company, Trump Entertainment Resorts, presented a letter from Icahn's attorney saying the billionaire would consider bailing out the casino if the debt he owns in it were converted to equity that would give him ownership. 

Icahn, who bought Atlantic City's Tropicana in 2010 in a similar manner, wants the city to drastically reduce the Taj's taxes, the union to give up pension and health insurance, and a state redevelopment agency to provide the USD 25 million. 

"Notwithstanding the fact that putting more money into the Taj is a questionable business decision, we share the company's desire to see the Taj Mahal remain open and preserve the jobs of the company's employees," Icahn attorney Allan Brilliant wrote in a September 23 letter to Trump Entertainment Resorts in response to the company's offer to hand ownership to Icahn.
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