Barry Diller Drops Bid To Acquire Full Control Of MGM Resorts

People Inc. Chairman Barry Diller has withdrawn a proposal to acquire full ownership of MGM Resorts.

The media company will retain its 27% stake in the casino operator, he said in a statement Wednesday, though it remains “open and interested” in potential strategic alternatives to the original transaction.

“There are lots of ingredients that go into a proposal of this kind on its way to completion,” Diller said. “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. What is undimmed is our belief in the future of MGM Resorts.”

As a minority investor, he added, People has “total confidence in both the management and the company’s prospects.”

Last June, Diller announced the bid, writing in a letter to the MGM Resorts board of directors that its shares were undervalued. Acquiring full ownership represented “a compelling opportunity to support MGM’s next phase of growth and help unlock its full value,” Diller said at the time.

Diller, who had significant tours of duty in Hollywood at Paramount and Fox before entering the digital media business, made an offer to buy Paramount before Skydance ultimately acquired it in 2025. He has indicated a willingness to buy CNN, which Paramount will soon control, though the network is not leaving the portfolio as of now.

People Inc. became the corporate name of what had been IAC (InterActive Corp.) earlier this year. IAC had acquired People magazine as part of a larger deal for Meredith, its corporate parent, which had bought the title when Time Warner was selling off its publishing business.