Blackstone Group will purchase MGM Resorts International’s Bellagio resort in Las Vegas for US$4.25 billion in a sale-leaseback arrangement. Las Vegas-based MGM is keeping a 5% stake in the Blackstone-led venture, according to Bloomberg.
Separately, the company agreed to sell Circus Circus and 47 adjoining acres, on the north end of the Las Vegas Strip, to real estate mogul Phil Ruffin for US$825 million, according to a statement Tuesday by the company.
“The casino industry is evolving and we figured the best use of our intellectual capital was to focus on sports, live entertainment and reduce leverage,” Jim Murren, MGM’s chairman and CEO, told Bloomberg. He said the transactions will help the company target new opportunities including an integrated resource license in Japan and sports betting in the U.S. Those plans don’t include more casinos in Las Vegas.
The company is closer to unloading most of its real estate, leaving two properties, including the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, under its ownership.
Read the stories on Bloomberg and the Las Vegas Review-Journal