MGM Resorts International, the casino operator based out of the US, is slated to sell ownership rights to several properties, and the list is quite long. A few of the biggies include MGM Grand Las Vegas to the Mandalay Bay Resort. The real estate assets will be offloaded by the company as agreed through a spinoff sale. This includes the MGM Growth Properties or MGP. VICI Properties, an investment trust for real estate, has got into acquiring the MGP’s for a combined sum of $17.2 billion.
The company saw a spun off by MGM over five years ago in a bid to strike off the assets for real estate from the balance sheet. A whopping 15 properties spanning several states are included in the portfolio. The class A shares outstanding in spinoff’s list is set to be 100 percent acquired by VICI. MGP’s largest stakeholder MGM is set for earning a staggering $4.4 billion in cash that has been worked on through an agreement. While the agreement also sees the inclusion of a pro-rata debt of $5.7 billion. The deal is set to be closed by H1 2022 between MGM and VICI but will be subject to approvals from stockholders and regulatory boards.
VICI’s Empire Expansion
The finalization of the MGP deal will see VICI being accorded the tag of Las Vegas Strip’s largest landowner even though the sale is inclusive of properties located outside the purview. The list of Las Vegas’s biggies MGM Grand Las Vegas and Mandalay Bay, is joined by multiple others. The names include Mississippi’s Beau Rivage, Atlantic City’s Borgata, to New York’s Empire City. Fifty-five percent of the rent is set to be generated through the casinos by VICI, while 45 percent of the same is set to be accrued through the Las Vegas Strip alone.
A significant deal was finalized in March this year by VICI, which saw the company agreeing to purchase the Venetian Resort Las Vegas along with the Sands Expo and Convention Center for a whopping 4 billion dollars in cash. The deal came through with the former owner deciding to offload the real estate property of Las Vegas Sands and divert its focus to the Asian market. MGM, as part of the MGP deal, will be entering into a triple-net master lease agreement spanning 25 years with VICI.
Skyrocketing revenues for MGM in Q2
Covid-19 pandemic saw the global gaming industry struggling hard to survive the restrictions and casino closures. The world’s markets are continuing their very best for emerging out of the crisis. At the same time, the operator sees a steady uptick in the revenues from the casino—the same amounts to a rise in year-on-year revenue to the tune of 683 percent. The productivity efforts and the high demands have driven the Q2 earnings, as stated by Hornbuckle, the company’s CEO, in a report.
