Riv Submits $34 Bid for Riviera Holdings

LAS VEGAS-Riv Acquisition Holdings is hopeful its new $34 bid for Riviera Holdings Corp. will help that company’s board change its mind about the dissident shareholder group. The board rejected a previous $27 bid, saying the Riv’s recent lock-up agreement with another Riviera shareholder group has resulted in, among other things, Riv being prohibited from acquiring the company for a period of three years. Riv has requested a response to its new offer by 5 p.m. Thursday, May 17.

The new, higher bid by Riv was prompted by a $30 per-share offer for Riviera last week from a group led by Ian Bruce Eichner and Dune Capital Management LP, and by Riviera’s decision to retain a financial advisor (Jefferies & Co.) to evaluate that and any other bids that may be submitted. As of Wednesday afternoon, Riviera has yet to make a statement with regard to Riv’s new bid, and a lawsuit brought by Riv challenging the legality of Riviera’s previous rejection continues to wend its way through Clark County District Court.