Barry Diller Drops Bid to Acquire MGM Resorts: ‘We Didn’t Feel the Mix Was Coming Together’

People Inc., the media company controlled by Barry Diller, is scrapping its proposed bid to acquire MGM Resorts International.

People Inc. (which changed its name from IAC this spring) owns about 27% of MGM Resorts. In June, the company submitted formal offer for the hotel and online-gaming operator to acquire all outstanding shares of MGM that People Inc. did not already own for $48.30 per share in cash. The bid valued MGM Resorts at around $18 billion.

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But on Wednesday, People Inc. said it was withdrawing the offer.

Diller, who serves as People Inc.’s chairman and senior executive, said in a statement, “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 and have decided not to pursue taking the company private at this time.”

Diller added, “What is undimmed is our belief in the future of MGM Resorts. We continue to hold 66.8 million shares representing approximately 27% of MGM Resorts and have total confidence in both the management and the Company’s prospects.”

The media mogul added, “People Incorporated is doing just fine with its principal publishing business achieving its 11th quarter of growth with plenty of cash to both invest in its business and purchase its stock.”

People Inc. remains “open to and interested in the possibility of a strategic transaction with MGM Resorts and look forward to considering a range of alternatives,” Diller said.

MGM Resorts on Wednesday confirmed People Inc.’s move to drop the takeover bid.

“The board remains excited to continue to lead MGM Resorts as a standalone company. Our leading position in Las Vegas, our best-in-class regional properties, and BetMGM’s continued momentum highlight the value we bring to our shareholders,” MGM Resorts chairman Paul Salem said in a statement.

MGM Resorts operates 30 hotel and casino destinations globally and owns 50% of BetMGM, a sports betting and online gaming platform, in a joint venture with U.K. gambling operator Entain. The company is currently “pursuing targeted expansion in Asia” through an integrated resort development in Japan.

Back in June, Diller had said MGM Resorts “represented a rare kind of business: one with real-world assets that AI cannot easily replicate or disintermediate and exceptional digital growth opportunities.”

Diller — who once run Paramount Pictures and tried to acquire Paramount before Viacom’s Sumner Redstone outbid him — originally formed Silver King Broadcasting in 1996 as a media holding company and change its name to IAC (InterActiveCorp) in 2004. The company’s Dotdash Meredith publishing unit in July 2025 had changed its name to People Inc., and Diller subsequently decided to apply that name to the whole enterprise.

IAC over the years owned and operated more than 200 companies and overseen over 100 minority investments. It has spun off 11 businesses including Match Group, Expedia, LendingTree, HSN (now part of QVC Group, which recently filed for bankruptcy), Ticketmaster (now part of Live Nation Entertainment) and Angi.

In late 2021, IAC acquired Meredith in a $2.7 billion deal, three years after Meredith bought Time Inc. (and following Meredith’s sale of titles including Time, now owned by Salesforce’s Marc Benioff; Fortune; and Sports Illustrated). Today, People Inc.’s 40-plus brands include People, Food + Wine, Southern Living, Travel & Leisure, Allrecipes, Better Homes & Gardens, InStyle, Verywell, Investopedia and EW.