Business 4 min read By Mason Emerson
People Inc. Shares Jump 9% After MGM Resorts Reportedly Makes Reverse Takeover Bid
Barry Diller's People Inc. saw its stock rise sharply Friday after a report that MGM Resorts has made an acquisition overture, just days after People dropped its own $18 billion bid for the casino giant.
Shares in Barry Diller's People Inc. climbed 9% in early trading Friday after a report that MGM Resorts has made an acquisition overture toward the media and internet holding company — a striking role reversal just days after People abandoned its own multibillion-dollar pursuit of the casino operator.
The move marks an abrupt turn in a corporate standoff that had been building for months. Earlier this week, People Inc. said it was dropping its $18 billion plan to acquire full control of MGM Resorts, a company in which it already holds a 27% stake. That decision appeared to close the book on Diller's long-running effort to consolidate the two businesses under one roof.
Instead, the report of a bid from MGM Resorts suggests the casino giant may now be the one seeking a deal. The overture was made recently, though terms have not been disclosed and it remains unclear whether People Inc. has responded or how seriously the approach is being weighed. Neither company has publicly confirmed the report.
The market reaction was immediate. A 9% jump in early trading reflects investor enthusiasm for the possibility that MGM Resorts could acquire the company that had, until this week, been trying to buy it. For shareholders, the reversal raises the prospect of a premium offer at a time when People Inc.'s own acquisition strategy had just been shelved.
People Inc. is the holding company Diller has built around a portfolio of digital and media properties, and its 27% stake in MGM Resorts has been a central piece of that strategy. The company's earlier $18 billion proposal would have given it full ownership of the casino and hospitality group, whose properties include some of the best-known resort brands on the Las Vegas Strip.
MGM Resorts, for its part, operates casinos and entertainment destinations across the United States and internationally. A reverse acquisition of People Inc. would be an unusual move for a gaming company, but it would give MGM exposure to Diller's digital media assets and could reshape the balance of power between the two firms.
The timing is notable. People Inc.'s decision to walk away from its own bid earlier this week was widely read as a retreat from a deal that had grown complicated. Now, with MGM Resorts reportedly stepping forward, the question is whether the two sides can find terms that eluded them in the prior effort.
Investors will be watching for any formal statement from either company. Until then, the reported overture remains unconfirmed, and the sharp rise in People Inc. shares reflects speculation as much as certainty. The situation is fluid, and the next few days could determine whether this becomes a genuine negotiation or fades as quickly as it surfaced.
For now, the reversal has injected new uncertainty into a corporate saga that had seemed to reach its conclusion. What began as People Inc.'s attempt to absorb MGM Resorts has, at least according to the report, transformed into a potential bid in the opposite direction — a twist that has Wall Street recalibrating its expectations for both companies.
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