Barry Diller Drops Bid to Take MGM Resorts Private

By Scott Roeben, on September 23 2026
2 min read 2 comments
Las Vegas

Barry Diller has bailed on his offer to take MGM Resorts private, so there’s no acquisition forthcoming as is the case for Caesars Entertainment (being purchased by Tilman Fertitta, pending regulatory blah blah approvals blah blah).

Diller’s People Incorporated, formerly IAC, made its offer June 1, 2026, to much fanfare, which has now turned into a sad trombone. “Fanfare” is the first cousin of “hullabaloo,” with close ties to “brouhaha” and “kerfuffle.” There will be a quiz, fellow youths.

Announcing the withdrawal, Diller said, “There are lots of ingredients that go into a proposal of this kind on its way to completion. We didn’t feel the mix was coming together in the way we had hoped.” Withdrawal. Completion. Coming together. It all sounds like a failed Tinder date.

Don’t cry because it’s over; smile because “Diller” sounds like somebody who brines cucumbers to make pickles.

The proposal was to pay $48.30 a share in cash for all the stock Diller doesn’t already own. He owns about 26% of the huge-ass casino company, or 66.8 million shares.

The proposal valued MGM Resorts’ equity at about $18 billion, a 24% premium to MGM’s average share price during the preceding 30 trading days.

Sorry, stockholders. The stock also took a hit (it dropped 8%) following Diller’s announcement the proposal is as dead as Gordie Brown’s Grammy prospects.

Like any failed Tinder date, though, Diller is leaving his options open. He said People remains open to a “future strategic transaction” involving MGM.

Diller’s relationship with MGM goes back to 2020, when IAC spent roughly $1 billion for a 12% stake in the company. Diller joined MGM’s board that same year. Diller was in town for the company’s quarterly board meeting.

So, MGM Resorts isn’t being taken private. Caesars is.

What unfolds next could be an A/B test for two very different futures of the biggest casino companies in the world: MGM will remain public and beholden to Wall Street; Caesars will go private and answer to a bazillionaire who said, “When things are bad, eat the weak and grow your business.”

Let the games begin.