MGM-Mandalay deal to create No.1 casino company
MGM-Mandalay deal to create No.1 casino company
Casino operator MGM Mirage launched an unsolicited $4.85 billion bid for rival Mandalay Resort Group. The deal is considered to create the largest American casino company which would cover about a third of the properties on the Las Vegas Strip.
According to Onlinecasinonews.com, currently MGM and Mandalay are two of the “big four” casino groups in the US along with other two operators - Harrah’s and Caesars. The agreement would open for MGM many lucrative niches in Las Vegas casinos such as Luxor, the Excalibur and the Monte Carlo. At the same time MGM Mirage is to provide its existing the Bellagio, the MGM Grand and the MGM Mirage due to the bid’s term. The rest part of the deal is Mandalay properties in Mississippi, Michigan and Illinois.
MGM valued the offer at $7.65 billion, including $2.8 billion in debt assumption, and said it would pay $68 per share in cash, a roughly 13 percent premium to Mandalay's Friday closing price. If Mandalay approves the deal the company’s merge will gather more than $6 billion in overall annual revenues.
“The combination of these two great companies would provide Mandalay shareholders with a premium price for their shares as well as providing several strategic benefits to shareholders in MGM Mirage,” MGM chairman and chief executive Terry Lanni said. Mandalay spokesperson claimed that the company “had received and would carefully evaluate the proposal from MGM Mirage and will respond to MGM Mirage in due course.”
About 57% of MGM Mirage shares belong to the billionaire businessman, Kirk Kerkorian.
