MGM Resorts International has plans to sell its Bellagio and Circus Circus resorts in Las Vegas in separate deals valued at approximately $5 billion.
Blackstone Real Estate Income Trust will acquire the Bellagio for $4.25 billion through a 95-5 joint venture with MGM and will lease it back to a unit of the casino company.
And MGM said it would sell Circus Circus Las Vegas to an affiliate of Treasure Island owner Phil Ruffin for $825 million. It includes the casino, the Adventuredome, a 10-acre RV park, and the 37-acre festival grounds.
The divestment come nine months after MGM, which had a long-term debt of $15 billion as of December 2018, formed a committee to evaluate its real estate portfolio amid its move to an asset-light model, reported Reuters.
MGM Resorts CEO and chairman Jim Murren said in a statement that the Circus Circus and Bellagio deals will allow the company to return capital to shareholders and focus on its work to strengthen its position