WYNN BID IN WIND
MGM may roll dice & buy casino biz: sources
MGMResortshasexpressed recent interest in buying Wynn Resorts, The Post has learned.
The interest has come in the form of back-channel approaches, sources familiar with the situation said.
MGM’s interest counters statements Chief Executive James Murren made in February when he said it was unlikely his company would make a serious bid for Wynn.
But since then, Steve Wynn, the former chief executive of Wynn Resorts, sold all of his shares in the casino company.
Wynn Resorts is not on the block, but one source close to the situation said the company’s new CEO would sell if he got the right price.
“I think if the Wynn CEO [Matt Maddox] gets his deal, he’ll sell,” a source close to a large gaming company said, adding that he believes there is a 50 percent chance MGM reaches a deal within the next several months.
Other sources cautioned that no official talks had yet taken place, and MGM could change its mind.
Steve Wynn resigned from the company he founded two months ago after allegations of sexual misconduct, and bidders are now circling the gaming company and what some consider its caretaker management team.
“I won’t be surprised if MGM buys all of Wynn,” a source close to the 76-year-old former CEOsaid.
“Yeah, MGMis interested,” a gaming banker said.
To be sure, a bid for Wynn could prompt other casinos — like Caesars Entertainment — to jump in, two gaming industry sources said.
MGM, owner of the New York, Luxor, Bellagio, Mirage, and Mandalay Bay casinos, between its separately traded operating company and real estate investment trust (REIT), can afford to buy the $20 billion market-cap Wynn, sources said.
Wynn Resorts, in the two months since its founder resigned, has not added new directors despite saying it was looking to expand and refresh the board.
“That inference corroborates to me that there will be a sale,” one gaming source said.
Time is working against the company now that its vision- ary leader is gone, the gaming source said. “Any weakness that could evolve over time is less visible today than it will be a year from now.”
Besides, the Massachusetts Gaming Commission is reviewing Wynn’s license to operate a new casino being built near Boston and that could be pulled due to the company’s “suitability.”
While MGM boss Murren had previously denied any interest in making a run at Wynn, a spokeswoman for MGM on Thursday declined to comment on any recent overtures.
There is a complication that MGM will have to consider when valuing Wynn: Most of Wynn’s revenue comes from its casino in the Chinese island of Macau, and China can pull all gaming licenses, including Wynn’s, in 2022, sources said.
President Trump’s escalating trade war with China makes that a risk, sources said, as the Chinese government might want more of Macau’s gaming revenue for itself.
MGM, like Wynn, operates in Macau with Sheldon Adelson’s Las Vegas Sands being the only other US gaming company on the island.
OnThursday, Wynn’s shares gained $1.66, to $181.24. They were trading at just over $200 in January before the sexual misconduct allegations arose.
Shares of MGMrose 1.8 percent, to $35.57.