ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. — Donald J. Trump may have a new project for his apprentices -- helping him try to figure out how to take his troubled casino company private after a proposed bailout fell through.
Trump Hotels & Casino Resorts Inc. and investment banker DLJ Merchant Banking Partners, which announced the bailout plan last month as part of a prepackaged Trump Hotels bankruptcy, said Wednesday they had ended talks "by mutual agreement."
In a prepared statement, the real estate tycoon, who stars in the "reality" TV show "The Apprentice," said the company was pursuing restructuring proposals with its bondholders and that it might "pursue a potential privatization of the company."
Neither Trump nor Trump Hotels executive Scott Butera returned phone calls.
DLJ, a private equity arm of Credit Suisse First Boston, declined to comment.
Trump has been searching for months for a way to save his casino company, which operates three casinos here and has $1.8 billion in debt.
