Barry Diller is making his next big move as People Inc. (previously IAC) submitted a non-binding proposal to acquire control of MGM Resorts International. The plan would be to buy outstanding MGM shares that People doesn’t already own and take the publicly-traded company private.

People Inc. already holds a sizable 26% stake in MGM Resorts. The proposal, offering $48.30 per share in cash, values the casino giant at $18 billion.

“We believe that MGM’s assets and businesses are not currently realizing their full potential in the public markets and that it will be difficult to correct this situation in MGM’s current form as a public company,” Diller wrote in a June 1 letter to the MGM Resorts’ Board of Directors.

“We began investing in MGM nearly six years ago because we believed it represented a rare kind of business: one with real world assets that AI cannot easily replicate or disintermediate and exceptional digital growth opportunities. That conviction has only strengthened over time,” said Diller, who is People’s chairman and senior executive. “We continue to believe the market materially undervalues the power and durability of MGM’s assets. We believe MGM’s management team is superb, and that there is a compelling opportunity to support MGM’s next phase of growth and help unlock its full value.”

The deal would be financed by a combination of existing cash on hand at People and at MGM and additional debt and equity funding commitments. People would end up controlling the MGM business with about 50.1% of the equity. Other investors, which may include existing shareholders of MGM, may hold minority interests. 

Diller called the offer a “high certain transaction.”

The proposal reps a premium of 24% to the volume-weighted average price of MGM common stock for the 30 trading days ending on May 29, 2026, a more than 30% premium to the stock’s volume-weighted average price for the 90 trading days ending on the same date, and a 10.6% premium to the most recent closing price.

Diller’s IAC rebranded to People Incorporated in April.

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