September 24, 2026
People Inc. has withdrawn its 8.30-a-share offer to take MGM Resorts private, ending a deal that would have valued the casino giant at over 8 billion. MGM stock fell 8.6% after hours, but Diller is keeping his 27% stake — and the door open.
The biggest casino deal of the year is off. People Inc., the media group chaired by Barry Diller, has withdrawn its proposal to buy the rest of MGM Resorts International and take the Las Vegas operator private. The offer, first made on 1 June 2026, would have valued MGM at more than $18 billion.
Wall Street did not take it well. MGM shares fell $3.24, or 8.57%, to $34.61 in after-hours trading on the New York Stock Exchange once the news broke.
Proposal date: 1 June 2026
Offer price: $48.30 per share, for the shares People did not already own
Implied valuation: more than $18 billion
People's existing stake: 66.8 million shares, around 27% of MGM
Share price reaction: −$3.24 (−8.57%) to $34.61 after hours
"The mix wasn't coming together"
People already controlled roughly a quarter of MGM before it made its move, so a full buyout would have been the logical next step. Over the summer a special committee of MGM's board negotiated with Diller's team. In the end, the pieces did not fit.
Neither side has said which "ingredient" was missing — price, financing or the structure of the deal. The phrase "at this time" is doing a lot of work, though: Diller did not rule out coming back.
People is keeping its 27%
The withdrawal does not mean People is walking away from MGM. It still holds all 66.8 million shares, and Diller was quick to stress that his confidence in the company has not changed.
People also said it remains open to a strategic transaction with MGM in some other form and will look at a range of options. MGM, for its part, confirmed the withdrawal. Board chairman Paul Salem said the company will keep operating as an independent business.
Once a buyout offer is on the table, part of it gets priced into the stock. With the $48.30 bid gone, that premium disappeared overnight. Even after the fall, the gap between the offer and the new price is almost $14 a share — about 40%. With around 247 million MGM shares in issue (People's 66.8 million is roughly 27% of them), the one-evening drop wiped about $800 million off the company's market value.
Osaka and Dubai carry on
Whoever owns it, MGM is pressing ahead with two of the largest resort projects in the industry:
| Project | Investment | Location | Target opening |
|---|---|---|---|
| MGM Osaka | ~$10 billion | Yumeshima island, Osaka Bay, Japan | By end of 2030 |
| MGM Dubai | ~$2.5 billion | Man-made island near the Burj Al Arab, UAE | Q3 2028 |
MGM Osaka is already under construction and is set to become Japan's first integrated resort. In Dubai the licence is still the open question: CEO Bill Hornbuckle said earlier this month that MGM is still waiting for approval of its UAE gaming licence, but is confident it will be granted.
The $18 billion take-private is dead, at least for now. But Barry Diller still owns more than a quarter of MGM and has openly said he wants some kind of deal. MGM goes back to life as a listed company, its share price has lost the takeover premium, and its growth story now rests on Osaka and Dubai. Don't be surprised if People comes back with a different proposal.
Share price figures reflect after-hours trading immediately following the announcement. This article is for information only and is not investment advice.
