SOSNOFF RAISES BID FOR CAESARS WORLD <CAW> Investor Martin T. Sosnoff said he has raised his offer for Caesars World Inc shares to 32 dlrs each from 28 dlrs and has reduced the number of shares he is seeking to 29.1 mln from all those not already owned. In a newspaper advertisement, Sosnoff said the bid by his MTS Acquisition Corp, withdrawal rights and the proration period will now expire June 19 unless extended. The offer had been scheduled to expire May 15. In late March, Sosnoff said he had received a "negligible" number of shares in response to the offer, which had been rejected by Caesars as inadequate. Sosnoff already owns about four mln of Caesars' 30 mln common shares now outstanding, or a 13.3 pct interest on a primary basis. Last week, Caesars' board approved a recapitalization plan as an alternative to the Sosnoff offer under which shareholders would receive a special dividend of 25 dlrs per share, subject to approval by shareholders at a special meeting to be held in June. The company planned to borrow 200 mln dlrs and sell 800 mln dlrs in debt to finance the payout. Sosnoff said in the newspaper advertisement that the amended offer is conditioned on receipt of enough shares to give him a majority interest on a fully diluted basis and on the arrangement of financing, as well as to approvals by New Jersey and Nevada gaming authorities. He said the tender would be the first step in acquiring all of Caesars' shares and if successful would be followed by a merger transaction. Sosnoff said later in a statement that the 29.1 mln shares he is now seeking, together with the 4,217,675 shares he owns, would give him a 92.4 pct interest on a fully diluted basis. He said he still has received only a "negligible" number of shares in response to his tender. In a letter to Caesars' chairman Henry Gluck included in the statement, Sosnoff said Gluck had again refused, on April 8, to meet with him, even though he had said he was willing to increase the price of his offer. Sosnoff said the financing for the offer is almost fully in place. Sosnoff said PaineWebber Group Inc <PWJ> has now delivered to him commitments to purchase up to 475 mln dlrs of increasing dividend cumulative exchangeable preferred stock of MTS Holding Corp, an indirect parent corporation of MTS Acquisition. He said Marine Midland Banks Inc <MM>, which leads a syndicate that has provided commitments for a 500 mln dlr margin facility, believes it will be able to arrange for further commitments under the margin facility to advance up to an additional 25 mln dlrs that may be needed to permit the purchase of shares under the offer. Sosnoff said under the merger that would follow his tender, each of the 2,750,000 Caesars shares not covered by the offer, or 7.6 pct on a fully diluted basis, would be converted into Series A preferred stock valued at 32 dlrs per shareby an independent investment baking firm. He said "To the extent that fewer than 29,100,000 sdhares are purchased in the offer, the stockholders would receive a combination of cash and Series A preferred stock having a value of 32 dlrs per share of Caesars." Sosnoff said he believes terms of his offer are superior to Caesars' recapitalization. Sosnoff said he will be meeting this week with gaming officials in Nevada in an effort to expedite the investigatory process required for regulatory approval, a process that it already underway in New Jersey. He said his offer has been extended based on the likely duration of the regulatory process. He said he intends to further extend the offer if the approval process is not completed by the expiration date.