MGM Resorts flies from Long Beach to Las Vegas the week of an $18 billion buyout bid

MGM Resorts’ Embraer Legacy 500, tail N783MM, flew from Long Beach International Airport to Harry Reid International Airport on June 18, covering the 42-minute hop at 25,000 feet. The flight arrived just after 10 p.m., touching down on a Strip that has been unusually quiet for a company that typically shuttles high-rollers between its casino-resorts and major metros.

The same week, Barry Diller’s People Inc. (formerly IAC) submitted a non-binding proposal to acquire all outstanding shares of MGM Resorts it does not already own for $48.30 per share in cash, valuing the casino giant at roughly $18 billion, as reported by Skift and confirmed by an SEC filing on June 1. Diller, who holds a board seat, already owns 26.1% of MGM and has called its assets “an extraordinary operation” that the public market undervalues. The proposal is subject to regulatory approvals and financing conditions, with CreditSights flagging debt funding as a key uncertainty in the deal.

This Long Beach-to-Las Vegas leg follows a pattern of MGM Resorts’ fleet activity: the same aircraft had flown from Seattle to Las Vegas on June 15, and from Dallas-Fort Worth to Las Vegas on June 12, suggesting the company’s jets are keeping executives close to the home base as the board reviews Diller’s offer and weighs the next phase of growth for the world’s premier gaming entertainment company.