Billionaire Fertitta Offers Record 15% Loan Rate to Save Empire

Texas billionaire Tilman Fertitta is looking to raise more debt to keep his casino and restaurant empire afloat through year-end if the Covid-19 shutdown persists. The offering is ending a near one-month drought in the market for risky corporate loans.

The businessman is offering potential lenders an interest rate of at least 15% to participate in a new $250 million loan for his Golden Nugget casinos and hundreds of restaurants under the Landry’s Inc. umbrella that have been ravaged by the coronavirus, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

The loan, which matures in October 2023 and is being ...