March 11 (Reuters) – Billionaire Tilman Fertitta has been in exclusive talks to buy Caesars Entertainment for roughly $7 billion after he topped a competing offer from billionaire investor Carl Icahn’s firm, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter.

Shares of the casino operator were up 12% in afternoon trading.

Caesars Entertainment did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

Fertitta’s company, Fertitta Entertainment , has been discussing paying around $34 a share for the gaming company, the report said.

An announcement between the two sides is not imminent, and it is possible the talks won’t result in any deal, the WSJ report added.

(Reporting by Parth Chandna; Editing by Alan Barona)