An federal judge in the US state of Illinois has signed off on a plan that lifts Caesars Entertainment’s operating unit out of Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

Caesars

It comes two years after the subsidiary filed for the court’s protection, saying it couldn’t keep up with its $18bn debt.

Caesars’ main operating unit won court approval on Tuesday for a plan to shed $10bn of debt and end a contentious $18bn bankruptcy filed nearly two years ago to the day.

The Caesars unit reached a deal last week to resolve the last objection to its reorganisation plan, which will split the business into a real estate investment trust and a separate operating company.

“It is a monumental achievement,” US Bankruptcy Judge Benjamin Goldgar said at a hearing in Chicago after approving the reorganisation plan. Goldgar praised the various law firms that worked on the case.