Diller Pulls MGM Takeover Bid, Casino Stock Tumbles

Shares of MGM Resorts International (NYSE: MGM) plunged in after-hours trading Wednesday after Barry Diller’s People Inc. (NASDAQ: PPLI) yanked the $18 billion go-private acquisition offer it floated on June 1.

The news, originally reported by The Wall Street Journal, arrives as Diller and other MGM board members arrived in Las Vegas late Tuesday for a previously undisclosed special meeting. The media company, which owns 26.1% of MGM shares, offered $48.30 a share for the Bellagio operator. He told the Journal deal complexities made it practical to abandon the takeover bid.

At this writing, shares of MGM are off 8.11% in after-hours trading and are changing hands around $34.80. If the stock closes around there tomorrow, it’d represent the lowest closing price in six months.

Doubt Consistently Followed Diller’s MGM Offer

Immediately following the June 1 acquisition offer, MGM shares predictably spiked due in part to talk that Diller’s offer was too low and that it could be raised or bested by another suitor. Neither scenario materialized.

While it was widely believed that Diller had the scope to raise his offer for the casino giant if need be, he didn’t. At least not publicly, and markets may have interpreted that as a sign that the deal was on shaky ground. Over the past month, the stock slipped nearly 14%, closing at $37.85, far away from Diller’s $48.30 per share offer.

When markets are confident an announced takeover will come to fruition, shares of the target company typically stick around the offer price. That much was seen with Caesars Entertainment (NASDAQ: CZR), which has spent months trading just below the $31 per share Tilman Fertitta is paying to acquire that casino operator.

The writing was on the wall in the options market today where, though not excessive, volume was elevated in some MGM October puts across the $34 to $38 strikes. Puts are the options traders buy when they’re looking for downside protection or to make bearish bets.

Diller Still Open to a Deal with MGM

Where Diller and MGM go from here remains to be seen, but some People investors are likely applauding his decision to drop the takeover of the Cosmopolitan operator.

Diller did not make any declarations regarding People’s stake in MGM, but he told the Journal that he’s “open to and interested in” a “strategic transaction” with the gaming company.

How such a deal could take shape is to be determined and it’s not clear if MGM is open to that.