By The New York Times / DealBook
Nevada’s gaming and hospitality sector is at the center of another landmark deal. Media mogul Barry Diller’s company, People Incorporated — formerly known as IAC — is preparing an offer to acquire MGM Resorts International and take the company private in a transaction valued at more than $18 billion, according to reporting by The New York Times’ DealBook.
In a letter addressed to MGM’s Board of Directors dated June 1, 2026, People Incorporated stated that it believes MGM’s assets and businesses are not currently realizing their full potential in the public markets and that it would be difficult to correct this situation while MGM remains a public company. The company proposed working with MGM’s board to agree on a transaction in which People Incorporated and other investors would provide MGM’s public shareholders with an attractive cash premium for their shares, taking MGM private. Review Journal
People Incorporated noted that it first began investing in MGM in 2020, based on its view that the company represents a durable growth business not easily displaced by technology. Review Journal
Diller’s interest in MGM dates to the COVID-19 pandemic, when he began accumulating shares in the casino operator while its stock was depressed by closures and travel restrictions. MGM owns marquee properties that account for roughly 40 percent of the Las Vegas Strip. Las Vegas Review-Journal
The potential offer comes just days after hospitality billionaire Tilman Fertitta’s firm announced its $17.6 billion takeover of Caesars Entertainment. Together, the two deals would represent a historic consolidation of Las Vegas Strip assets into private hands. Las Vegas Review-Journal
MGM Resorts owns some of the most recognizable properties on the Strip, including Bellagio, MGM Grand, Aria, Vdara, Park MGM, New York-New York, Luxor, Excalibur, and Mandalay Bay, among others.
For Nevada’s business community, the potential privatization of MGM — combined with last week’s Caesars announcement — signals a new era of large-scale private investment confidence in Las Vegas as the premier entertainment and hospitality destination in the world.
Sources: New York Times DealBook, Reuters, SEC Filing — People Incorporated letter to MGM Board of Directors, June 1, 2026.