According to a report by Reuters, Caesars Entertainment and Eldorado Resorts have begun talks about a potential merger.
The meetings follow three months of investment by Carl Icahn, who has raised his holding to 17.75% since the beginning of the year.
Earlier this month, Caesars and Icahn agreed to replace three members of the board of directors with Icahn able to name a fourth if a new CEO is not named and agreed upon within 45 days. The activist investor has been pushing for a sale of the gaming company, which has a market capitalization of $5.6 billion and around $9 billion in debt.
"I believe the best path forward for Caesars requires a thorough strategic process to sell or merge the company to further develop its already strong regional presence, which will allow Caesars to continue to take advantage of the Caesars Rewards program bringing more and more players into Caesars' Vegas market," Icahn said in a statement this month. "I expect this to make Caesars the most powerful competitor in Vegas, the gaming capital of the world."
Caesars Entertainment currently has nine hotel-casinos in Las Vegas, as well as properties in Atlantic City, New Orleans and California. Internationally, Caesars Bluewaters Dubai opened late last year and Caesars Palace Puerto Los Cabos is expected to debut in Mexico in 2020.
Eldorado Resorts currently has 26 gaming properties across the U.S., including Circus Circus, Silver Legacy and Eldorado in Reno, and casinos across the Midwest and South.