Casino stocks rise on MGM share offer

23.11.2006, Lesen Sie hier den Bericht über «Casino stocks rise on MGM share offer»

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Shares of closely held casino operators rose on Wednesday after the investment firm owned by billionaire Kirk Kerkorian said it plans to raise its stake in MGM Mirage Inc. (MGM.N) to as much as 61.7 percent.

Shares of Boyd Gaming Corp. (BYD.N), Station Casinos Inc. (STN.N) and Wynn Resorts Ltd (WYNN.O) all rose, as MGM Mirage stock hit an all-time high. "The offer implies that the company is presently undervalued by the public markets," CIBC World Markets analyst David Katz said in a research note. Tracinda Corp., which already owns 56.3 percent of Las Vegas-based MGM, said it would offer to buy 15 million more shares for $55 each, or a 12 percent premium to the stock's Tuesday close of $49.

MGM shares were up 10 percent at $53.90 in afternoon trading on the New York Stock Exchange, after hitting an all-time high of $54.41. Katz said "other established large-cap companies should trade higher, particularly Boyd, Station, and Wynn, particularly those with large inside holders." Shares of Boyd, where insiders own more than half of the company, were up 1.9 percent. Shares of Station Casinos, with insider ownership of about 20 percent, were up 2.8 percent, both on the NYSE.

Shares of Wynn Resorts Ltd. (WYNN.O), where directors and executives including chairman and CEO Steve Wynn own more than half the company, were up nearly 1 percent on Nasdaq. Shares of Ameristar Casinos Inc. (ASCA.O:) were up 3.5 percent on Nasdaq after rising more than 11 percent on Monday, when the death of majority shareholder, Chairman and Chief Executive Craig Neilsen sparked speculation that the company would be sold.

Shares of MGM, the second-largest U.S. casino operator, have been capped for the past year or so by investor concerns over high capital spending, particularly the company's $4.5 billion net cost for the CityCenter project on the Last Vegas Strip. "If the deal is fully tendered, we think it could be a sign that investors also have some concerns about MGM's development project," Goldman Sachs analyst Steven Kent said in a research note. "However, if the stock holds in at these $53-$54 levels and if significantly less than 100 percent of the float is tendered, it signals that investors are willing to forgo short-term economic profit with the belief that the shares are fundamentally undervalued in the long term."

Analysts also said Kerkorian's move may have implications for the industry's largest pending deal -- a $15 billion bid from two private equity firms to acquire No. 1 casino operator Harrah's Entertainment Inc. (HET.N) David Anders, an analyst at Merrill Lynch, said rapid appreciation of stocks in the group will be another item for consideration by Harrah's board as it continues to evaluate the early October bid from Texas Pacific and Apollo Management.

By dragging out the process, the market for casino assets has only gotten stronger, and we believe this new information will likely have to be addressed as the board evaluates the fair value for the company," he said in a research note. Shares of Harrah's were up 1.6 percent at $77.13 on the New York Stock Exchange. Katz said that, although Tracinda's strategy is not clear at present, the notion that MGM Mirage could become a private entity at some point also appears more realistic.

Über MGM Resorts International Operations, Inc.:

MGM Resorts International (NYSE: MGM) ist ein globales Unterhaltungsunternehmen des S&P 500 mit nationalen und internationalen Standorten, das erstklassige Hotels und Casinos, hochmoderne Tagungs- und Konferenzräume, unglaubliche Live- und Theaterunterhaltungserlebnisse bietet und eine umfangreiche Auswahl an Restaurants, Nachtleben und Einzelhandelsangeboten.

Das MGM Resorts-Portfolio umfasst 29 einzigartige Hotel- und Destination-Gaming- Angebote, darunter einige der bekanntesten Resort-Marken der Branche.

Wir betreiben ein Portfolio von Resorts in Las Vegas, darunter Bellagio, MGM Grand, Mandalay Bay und The Mirage, The Signature, Excalibur, Luxor, New York-New York, Park MGM und weitere. In Las Vegas haben wir auch eine bedeutende Beteiligung an CityCenter, dem legendären Hotel, Kongress-, Einzelhandels- und Restaurantkomplex im Herzen des Las Vegas Strip mit ARIA Resort und Casino und Vdara Hotel und Spa, Crystals Retail und Veer Eigentumswohnungen.

Das Unternehmen expandierte in den USA und auf der ganzen Welt und erwarb kürzlich den Betrieb des Empire City Casino in New York und des Hard Rock Rocksino in Ohio, das in MGM Northfield Park umbenannt wurde.

Im Jahr 2018 eröffneten MGM Resorts MGM Springfield in Massachusetts, MGM COTAI in Macau und das erste Hotel der Marke Bellagio in Shanghai.

Die über 80.000 Mitarbeiter von MGM Resorts weltweit sind stolz darauf, dass ihr Unternehmen als eines der weltweit am meisten bewunderten Unternehmen des FORTUNE Magazine anerkannt wurde.

--- Ende Artikel / Pressemitteilung Casino stocks rise on MGM share offer ---


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