Sep 17, 2019

Blackstone Group in "advanced talks" to buy Bellagio and MGM Grand

The Bellagio hotel in Las Vegas. Photo: George Rose/Getty Images

The Blackstone Group is in "advanced talks" to buy and lease back the Bellagio and MGM Grand Las Vegas hotels and casinos from MGM Resorts International (NYSE: MGM), per Bloomberg. No financial terms were disclosed, but an earlier Bloomberg report valued the combined properties at around $7 billion.

Why it matters: This would be Blackstone's largest bet on the Vegas strip, where it has a mixed history.

The firm paid around $1.7 billion for the Cosmopolitan hotel and casino in 2014, and reportedly considered shopping it earlier this year with a $4 billion asking price.
But it also was part of disastrous pre-crisis deal for Harrah's, which later became known as Caesars Entertainment.

Lotta chips: Blackstone recently closed the largest real-estate private equity fund of all time, with $20.5 billion in commitments.

The bottom line: "Property sales free up cash for casino companies to expand while letting them continue to manage their resorts," per Bloomberg.

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Dan Primack

MGM agrees to sell Bellagio for $4.25 billion

Photo: George Rose/Getty Images

MGM Resorts International on Tuesday announced it will sell its Bellagio Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas to the Blackstone Group, and then lease back the property, in a $4.25 billion deal.

By the numbers: It also agreed to an $825 million sale for Circus Circus with real estate mogul Phil Ruffin.

Go deeperOct 15, 2019

Rashaan Ayesh

MGM will pay Las Vegas victims up to $800 million

Photo: Ethan Miller/Getty Images

MGM Resorts International has agreed to pay between $735 million and $800 million to the families of the 58 victims who died and hundreds more who were injured when a gunman targeted a concert in Las Vegas in 2017, reports AP.

Why it matters: "It's a major step to resolve hundreds of lawsuits in multiple states that seek compensation for a range of physical and psychological injuries from the deadliest mass shooting in modern history," writes AP. The settlement seeks to clear up claims that MGM was negligent by permitting the attacker to stash assault-style weapons and ammunition at Mandalay Bay hotel, an MGM-owned property.

Go deeperOct 3, 2019

Dan Primack

Blackstone Group to pay $5.9 billion for Colony Capital warehouses

The Blackstone Group agreed to pay $5.9 billion for a portfolio of U.S. industrial warehouses from Colony Capital.

Why it matters: Blackstone has become a major force in global e-commerce logistics, having acquired over one billion square feet. Last week it closed on its $18.7 billion purchase of U.S. industrial warehouses from Singapore's GLP, and also consolidated its European last-mile logistics real estate assets under a new umbrella called Mileway.

Go deeperSep 30, 2019