TLDR
- Barry Diller’s People Inc. withdrew its $18 billion offer to take MGM Resorts private.
- MGM shares fell 8.11% in after-hours trading to around $34.80.
- People Inc. owns 26.1% of MGM and had offered $48.30 per share on June 1.
- MGM stock had already slipped nearly 14% over the past month before the news.
- Diller says he is still “open to and interested in” a “strategic transaction” with MGM.
Shares of MGM Resorts International fell in after-hours trading on Wednesday. The drop came after Barry Diller’s People Inc. withdrew its $18 billion offer to take the casino company private.
People Inc. first made the offer on June 1. The media company offered $48.30 per share for the Bellagio operator.
The Wall Street Journal first reported the news. It came as Diller and other MGM board members arrived in Las Vegas late Tuesday for a special meeting that had not been announced.
People Inc. owns 26.1% of MGM shares. Diller said the complex nature of the deal led to the decision to drop the bid.
“There are lots of ingredients that go into a proposal of this kind on its way to completion,” Diller told the Journal. “We didn’t feel the mix was coming together in the way we had hoped and have decided not to pursue taking the company (MGM) private at this time.”
Doubts Followed the Offer From the Start
MGM shares jumped right after the June 1 offer. Part of the rise came from talk that Diller’s price was too low and could be raised or topped by another buyer.
Neither of those things happened. Many believed Diller had room to raise his offer, but he did not do so publicly.
Markets may have seen that as a sign the deal was in trouble. Over the past month, MGM stock slipped nearly 14% and closed at $37.85, well below the $48.30 offer.
When investors believe a takeover will close, the target company’s stock usually trades near the offer price. That has been the case with Caesars Entertainment.
For months, Caesars shares have traded just below the $31 per share that Tilman Fertitta is paying to buy the casino operator.
Options trading also hinted at trouble on Wednesday. Volume was elevated in some MGM October puts with strike prices between $34 and $38.
Traders buy puts to protect against falling prices or to bet that a stock will go down.
Diller Still Open to a Deal
It is not yet clear what comes next for Diller and MGM. Some People Inc. investors are likely pleased that he dropped the takeover of the Cosmopolitan operator.
Diller did not say what People Inc. plans to do with its stake in MGM. He did tell the Journal that he is “open to and interested in” a “strategic transaction” with the gaming company.
How such a deal might work has not been decided. It is also unclear whether MGM would be open to it.
MGM shares were last down 8.11% in after-hours trading, changing hands around $34.80. A close near that level would mark the stock’s lowest closing price in six months.
