Barry Diller is making a major play in the casino and gaming business.
The mogul’s holding company People Incorporated is proposing to acquire MGM Resorts in a deal that valued the casino giant at $18 billion. People Inc. (formerly IAC) is already MGM’s largest shareholder, holding more than 26 percent of its stock. It is proposing to buy the remaining 24.9 percent for $48.30 per share.
In a letter to MGM’s board, Diller wrote that the deal would be funded by cash on hand, as well and debt and equity commitments. Should the deal be completed, People would own just over 50 percent of the company, and be its controlling shareholder, with minority investors joining.
He also wrote that he expects to keep MGM’s current management team.
“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,” said Diller, chairman and senior executive of People Incorporated in a statement. “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.”
The deal, if approved and consummated, would make Diller and People major players in the casino and experiential business, both areas that are seen as growth opportunities in a crowded media world. MGM Resorts is the largest casino company in the world by revenue, ahead of the likes of Las Vegas Sands and Caesars Entertainment. The gambling business has been undergoing disruption thanks to online betting firms like DraftKings and FanDuel, not to mention prediction markets like Kalshi and Polymarket.
Diller, however, is betting that the actual experience of traveling to a resort will not be disrupted anytime soon.
MGM Resorts operates 31 resorts in seven states and in China, including the MGM Grand and Bellagio in Las Vegas. It got its name from the MGM film studio, which was also owned by Kirk Kerkorian.
“We fully recognize that the MGM board will need to consider this transaction under the appropriate Delaware procedures, and of course I will recuse myself from any deliberations of the MGM Board regarding this transaction or any alternative,” Diller wrote to the MGM board. “We wish to confirm to you that People Incorporated has no intention to sell our existing ownership stake in MGM, or to pursue or vote in favor of any merger or other similar extraordinary transaction that would result in a change in control to another party or dilute in any meaningful respect our economic and voting interest in MGM.”
