MGM to sell Bellagio, Circus Circus resorts for $5b

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 in the legal sports betting market and its efforts to expand into Japan, which recently approved a law allowing up to three casino-resorts to open in the nation.

“These transactions enhance the company’s strategic and operational flexibility and reinforce its commitment to targeted new growth opportunities, including securing and investing in one of the integrated resort licenses in Japan and becoming an industry leader in sports betting in the United States,” said Murren.

Both deals are expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2019.​