MGM Resorts will purchase the remaining 50% stake of its joint venture on Las Vegas Strip from an investment firm Dubai World for $2.12 Billion, the U.S. casino operator announced on Thursday.CityCenter Holdings is a venture that consists of Aria Resort and Casino, Vdara Hotel & Spa, and CityCenter Holdings.MGM purchased it from Infinity World Development Corp and said that it would sell the properties to Blackstone, a private equity firm, for $3.89 Billion in cash.MGM's asset-light strategy is to sell real estate in order to generate cash and then use that money for growth avenues like sports betting and development of casinos in Japan.MGM Resorts Chief Executive Bill Hornbuckle stated that they expect to execute on their asset-light strategy, and use the proceeds of our real estate transactions in order to secure new growth opportunities.According to the company, Blackstone will lease Vdara and Aria properties to MGM at an initial rent of $215 million. These deals are expected close by the end of the third quarter.MGMs purchased CityCenter for $5.8 billion. This includes net debt of $1.5 Billion.MGM shares rose 2.7% after gaining about 35% through Wednesday's close.(Reporting by Ankit Ajmera, Bengaluru; Editing done by Maju Samuel & Arun Koyyur).This article was originally published by Reuters. It was licensed legally through the Industry Dive publisher system. All licensing inquiries should be directed to legal@industrydive.com
