Reuters is reporting that Eldorado Resorts and Caesars Entertainment are discussing the possibility of a merger.
The talks come after Caesars agreed earlier this month to give investor Carl Icahn three board seats to his representatives and a say on the selection of its next chief executive officer.
Sources tell Reuters that Caesars is providing some limited confidential financial information to Eldorado, which is carrying out due diligence on the potential combination of the two companies.
Eldorado has not made a binding offer for Caesars, and there is no certainty any bid will materialize or that a deal will be successfully negotiated.
At 5.4 billion dollars, Caesars’ market capitalizations is about half again the size of Eldorado’s.
Last year, Caesars rejected a merger approach by Tilman Fertitta, the billionaire owner of Golden Nugget casinos.
Caesars has also said it is exploring strategic alternatives that could lead to some kind of transaction.