Barry Diller Pulls $12.4B MGM Resorts Takeover Bid

Barry Diller has abandoned his months-long push to take MGM Resorts private, pulling a bid that would have valued the casino giant at roughly $12.4 billion. Diller's IAC-successor vehicle, People Inc. — which already held a roughly 27% stake in MGM — made the offer public in June, framing it as a strategic pivot away from AI-disrupted media toward real-world experiences insulated from technological upheaval. MGM shares tumbled more than 8% in after-hours trading on the news.

Diller had argued that casinos, resorts, and live entertainment represent one of the last consumer experiences that AI cannot easily intermediate — at least for now. His company owns People magazine, Food & Wine, and other media properties facing existential pressure from generative AI, and he explicitly cast the MGM deal as a hedge against that disruption. The logic: while digital media crumbles, someone still has to physically walk into a casino.

Despite months of evaluation — MGM's board formed a special committee and retained advisers to assess the bid — Diller said the necessary elements never fell into place. He left the door open to some form of strategic transaction with MGM, stopping short of a full breakup. MGM Chairman Paul Salem confirmed the bid's collapse and insisted the company would remain independent, pointing to its international portfolio and planned overseas expansion as drivers of shareholder value.

The backdrop is a casino industry under real strain. Las Vegas is drawing fewer middle- and lower-income visitors, becoming increasingly reliant on high-spending wealthy guests. Fast-growing prediction-market platforms are siphoning betting dollars. Operators have responded with discounts and loyalty perks. The sector's turbulence is underscored by Caesars Entertainment's late-May agreement to be acquired by Tilman Fertitta's Golden Nugget empire for $5.7 billion — a deal that preceded Diller's MGM move by just days.