Barry Diller's People Inc. Withdraws Its $48.30-a-Share Bid for MGM Resorts, Which Stays Standalone

People Inc. has walked away from its June proposal to take MGM Resorts private, and MGM shares fell 8.6% after hours to $34.61, far below the $48.30 that was on the table. Diller keeps his roughly 27% stake and says he is still open to "a range of alternatives".

• MGM Resorts International said on 23 September that People Inc., the company formerly known as IAC, has withdrawn its 1 June proposal to acquire every MGM share it does not already own, and that MGM will continue as a standalone company
• The non-binding proposal offered $48.30 a share in cash, a 24.1% premium to the 30-day volume-weighted average price and 10.6% above the previous close, according to Diller's letter filed with the SEC
• Diller said People "didn't feel the mix was coming together in the way we had hoped", while MGM chairman Paul Salem said MGM's Las Vegas position, regional properties, BetMGM, MGM China and MGM Osaka "support a clear path to increasing shareholder value"
• MGM shares fell $3.24, or 8.6%, to $34.61 in after-hours trading, according to CDC Gaming Reports, about 28% below the price People had offered
• People keeps its stake of about 27%, and its June letter said it would not sell it or back a change of control to another party, which leaves little room for a rival bidder

A Special Committee Negotiated for Months, Then the Bidder Walked

MGM Resorts confirmed in a short statement after the market close on 23 September that People Inc. had withdrawn "its June 1, 2026, proposal to acquire all of the outstanding shares of the Company that it does not already own". A special committee of the board had negotiated with People "over the past several months", the company said, and MGM "will continue as a standalone company". No reason for the withdrawal was given in MGM's statement, and neither side disclosed what, if anything, had been offered or countered during the talks.

The original proposal is set out in a letter from Barry Diller dated 1 June and filed as an exhibit to People's amended Schedule 13D with the SEC. It offered $48.30 a share in cash for every MGM share not owned by People, which the letter said was a 24.1% premium to the volume-weighted average price for the 30 trading days to 29 May, more than 30% above the 90-day average and 10.6% above the most recent close. People said it began investing in MGM in 2020 because it saw a "durable growth business not easily displaced by technology". The deal has been reported as valuing MGM at more than $18 billion.

The structure depended on partners. People expected to own "just over a majority" of the post-closing equity, with minority stakes held by other investors who might include some existing MGM shareholders, and the letter said it would fund the purchase from cash at People and MGM and from "preliminary conversations with other potential equity investors and financing sources". It said the transaction would not carry a financing condition and would need competition and gaming regulatory approvals. Diller, who sits on MGM's board, said he would recuse himself from its deliberations.

What Each Side Said

In a statement reported by CDC Gaming Reports, Diller said: "There are lots of ingredients that go into a proposal of this kind on its way to completion. We didn't feel the mix was coming together in the way we had hoped and have decided not to pursue taking the company private at this time." He added that People remained "open to and interested in the possibility of a strategic transaction with MGM Resorts" and would consider "a range of alternatives".

Paul Salem, chairman of the MGM board, said the board "remains excited to continue to lead MGM Resorts as a standalone company". He pointed to MGM's leading position in Las Vegas, its regional properties, "BetMGM's continued momentum", MGM China and "the significant opportunity ahead with MGM Osaka". The online joint venture has also been a theme for Entain, MGM's partner in BetMGM, which reported BetMGM momentum in its interim figures last month.

People holds about 66.8 million shares, or roughly 27% of the company, according to CDC Gaming Reports. MGM's stock fell $3.24, or 8.6%, to $34.61 in after-hours trading on the news.

The Share Price Says the Market Had Already Stopped Believing

The most telling number is not the 8.6% fall but where it landed. The offer letter's own arithmetic implies that MGM closed at about $43.70 before the proposal, and the 30-day average it referenced was close to $38.90. An after-hours price of $34.61 is below both, and about 28% below the offer. In other words, the shares had already drifted well under the bid price during the special committee's talks, which is what a market does when it assigns a low probability to completion. The withdrawal confirmed a doubt rather than creating one, and removed whatever support the bid was still giving the price.

Diller's Missing Ingredient Is Most Likely the Equity Partners

Diller did not say which part of the mix failed, and it would be speculation to name one. But the June letter makes plain where the proposal was weakest: People wanted control with only "just over a majority" of the equity, and it relied on other investors, some unnamed and some possibly existing shareholders, to fund the rest, alongside cash held by MGM itself. A take-private of a company worth more than $18 billion that leaves the bidder with a bare majority needs co-investors willing to accept a minority position under a controlling owner, and a special committee willing to agree a price those investors can live with. Either could have failed without anyone breaching anything.

MGM Is Standalone, but Not Free

The June letter also contained a commitment that matters more now than it did then. People said it had no intention of selling its stake, or of pursuing or voting for any transaction that would hand control to another party or meaningfully dilute its interest. With roughly 27% of the shares, a board seat and a stated interest in "a range of alternatives", People remains the only realistic counterparty for a change of control at MGM. That constrains the board's options as much as it reassures shareholders that the largest holder is staying. Salem's list of growth drivers, from BetMGM to Osaka, is the board's case for the standalone plan, and it will now be judged against a price the market had already refused to believe in.

The bid is over, but the question it raised, whether MGM is worth more in private hands, has not been answered. With Diller still holding the largest stake and saying he is open to other structures, it may only have been postponed.