People Incorporated Dumps Bid to Buy MGM Resorts

MGM Resorts stock price dipped following an aborted deal by People Inc. to purchase the casino giant’s shares.  

People Incorporated, run by media behemoth Barry Diller, had pledged to make the 100% share deal back in June. It already owns 27% of MGM Resorts.

For now, MGM remains a public business, something which obviously excited the board. In a statement, they said they were “excited” to continue MGM Resorts as a standalone company. It would also be free to “increase shareholder value” with its international properties.

For Diller, the reason for the pullout was simple: the proposal “was not coming together as hoped” but didn’t rule out a future deal.

‘Total Confidence in the Company’s Prospects’

MGM Resorts is one of the world’s leading casino giants. It owns and controls Vegas resorts including MGM Grand, Bellagio, and ARIA. There are also MGM casinos spread across states that have regulated retail gambling.

MGM also owns the regulated BetMGM brand online. It provides online casino games or regulated sports betting in many U.S. states.

People Inc. is America’s largest digital and print media company. However, People Inc. chairman Diller was already eyeing up a larger investment in the casino industry.

Citing AI, he said in June that People Inc. invested in MGM six years previously as they believed it “represented a rare kind of business: one with real world assets that AI cannot easily replicate or disintermediate” while offering “exceptional digital growth opportunities.”

Valuing MGM Resorts at $18 billion, Diller added that People Inc. believed MGM’s businesses were “not realizing their full potential in the public markets.”

The highlight on AI is interesting as it seems to mark a recognition from the media mogul that AI will seriously impact media industries going forward. Diversifying would be one way to keep the People Inc. brand alive.

People Inc. & MGM: The Aborted Deal

• On June 1, 2026, People Inc. proposed an all-cash buyout of MGM Resorts
• The valuation was $18 billion at $48.30 per share
• People Inc. have pulled out, leaving MGM as a standalone company
• MGM shares have fallen 7–8% on the back of the news
• MGM Resorts assets include MGM Grand, Bellagio, and ARIA
• Barry Diller had called the MGM stock “wildly undervalued”

Move Follows Bidding War for America’s Casino Giants

MGM Resorts isn’t the only U.S. casino giant to agree a deal this year. In May, Caesars Entertainment entered into a deal with Fertitta Entertainment.

Fertitta bought Caesars for $17.6 billion in an all-cash deal. Shareholders received $31 per share under the terms of the deal. The brand also owns the online Caesars sportsbook, licensed in over 30 states.

Like BetMGM, Caesars has a large online presence in the regulated space in the U.S. In June, it entered into discussions to launch in Maine in partnership with three of the Wabanaki tribes.

MGM Enjoys 1% Increase in Consolidated Revenue

Falling revenue was not one of the reasons for People Inc.’s decision to pull out. MGM Resorts reported a slight increase in consolidated revenue for Q2, up 1% year-over-year.

Additionally, MGM’s Las Vegas resorts reported revenue of $2.2 billion, an increase of 3% for the same quarter last year. Online revenue through MGM Digital had the biggest growth overall, up 20% year-over-year, to $164 million.