Barry Diller Withdraws Bid for MGM Resorts
The billionaire had been in talks with the casino operator after offering in June to take a majority stake
- Barry Diller withdrew his bid to take MGM Resorts private after months of discussions with the casino operator.
- Diller’s People Inc., which holds a roughly 27% stake in MGM Resorts, had offered to buy the remaining shares in a deal valuing the company at about $12.4 billion.
- Diller said he didn’t feel the mix was coming together as hoped, but remains open to a strategic transaction with MGM Resorts.
Barry Diller on Wednesday said he is withdrawing his bid for MGM Resorts MGM -2.70%decrease; down pointing triangle after months of discussions with the company.
Diller’s People Inc. offered in June to buy the remaining stake of the casino company it didn’t already own, in a deal valuing the company at around $12.4 billion. People holds a roughly 27% stake in MGM.
The Wall Street Journal reported in July that MGM had set up a board committee and lined up advisers to evaluate the bid.
“There are lots of ingredients that go into a proposal of this kind on its way to completion,” Diller said Wednesday. “We didn’t feel the mix was coming together in the way we had hoped and have decided not to pursue taking the company private at this time,” Diller said. He added that the company remains “open to and interested in” a strategic transaction with MGM Resorts.
Diller previously said he didn’t think MGM’s potential could be realized in the public markets. The company’s sprawling interests include resorts in Las Vegas and around the world, table game revenue and online betting operations including BetMGM.
MGM Chairman Paul Salem confirmed the bid had been withdrawn and said the company would remain a standalone entity. He said MGM has momentum and its international portfolio and planned overseas growth “support a clear path to increasing shareholder value.”
MGM shares fell more than 8% in after-hours trading.
Diller has said the deal would give his company, which includes People magazine, Food & Wine and other publications, a hedge at a time when artificial intelligence is upending the media business. He said real-world experiences like casino visits or shows remain more insulated from AI, for now.
“While everyone was running into all sorts of ‘AI opportunities,’ I wanted to run the other way,” Diller told the Journal in June. “It wasn’t hard for me to find MGM, where no one is going to get in between those resorts and consumers until we get to the final simulation.”
MGM and its peers have faced pressure from fast-growing prediction-markets platforms, which allow consumers to make bets on everything from sports to politics. Las Vegas has been drawing fewer lower- and middle-income families and is increasingly dependent on spending by a smaller group of well-off people. Casino operators have tried to thwart the headwinds by offering discounts and other perks to lure visitors to their properties.
Caesars Entertainment in late May agreed to be acquired by Golden Nugget owner Tilman Fertitta for $5.7 billion. Diller made his offer for MGM public days later.