Barry Diller Makes Bid For MGM Resorts

Reports of the death of brick-and-mortar casinos have been greatly exaggerated, if recent M&A activity is to be believed.

Mere days after Fertitta Entertainment announced it was buying Caesars Entertainment for $17.6 billion, The New York Times was first to report Barry Diller’s People Inc. is preparing a deal to buy MGM Resorts (adding to what he already owns) to the tune of $18 billion.

Currently, Diller’s company owns 26.1% of the common stock of MGM. The offer is to buy the remaining shares it doesn’t own of the company for $48.30 per share in cash.

“We began investing in MGM nearly six years ago because we believed it represented a rare kind of business: one with real world assets that AI cannot easily replicate or disintermediate and exceptional digital growth opportunities. That conviction has only strengthened over time,” Diller, the chairman and senior executive of People Inc., said in a press release. “We continue to believe the market materially undervalues the power and durability of MGM’s assets. We believe MGM’s management team is superb, and that there is a compelling opportunity to support MGM’s next phase of growth and help unlock its full value.

“I believe this transaction would deliver significant benefits to the shareholders of both companies,” he continued. “MGM shareholders would be given the opportunity to de-risk their investment and realize immediate, attractive value in cash for their shares. We are confident in our ability to execute on a transaction promptly with engagement from the MGM Board of Directors.”

Making moves

According to the Times, Diller started acquiring his position in MGM during the COVID pandemic, mirroring a move he made post-9/11 when he purchased Expedia.com, before spinning it off in 2005.

Diller has been actively pursuing owning MGM outright for months, writing in a note to his stockholders in April that “MGM Resorts is an extraordinary operation powered by a compelling mix of iconic resort destinations, scalable digital platforms, premium brands, an expanding global presence, and, under its C.E.O. Bill Hornbuckle, an outstanding management team. MGM owns 40 percent of the Las Vegas Strip — an entertainment nucleus that simply cannot be replicated anywhere in the world.”