MGM Resorts International has reached an agreement to sell the operations of The Mirage Hotel & Casino to Hard Rock International for US$1.075 billion in cash, the company announced early Tuesday (Asia time).
Under the terms of the agreement, MGM Resorts will retain The Mirage name and brand, which it will license it to Hard Rock royalty-free for up to three years while Hard Rock finalizes its plans to rebrand the property.
The transaction, expected to close in the second half of 2022, is the latest of a number of major Las Vegas assets MGM has sold off since 2019, including the Bellagio, MGM Grand, Mandalay Bay and CityCenter.
“This transaction is a significant milestone for MGM Resorts and for Las Vegas,” said MGM Resorts CEO & President, Bill Hornbuckle.
“As part of the team that opened The Mirage in 1989, I know firsthand how special it is and what a great opportunity it presents to the Hard Rock team. I want to thank all of our Mirage employees who have consistently delivered world-class gaming and entertainment experiences to our guests for more than three decades.”
Opened in 1989, The Mirage – famous for its Strip-side volcano – was acquired by MGM Resorts in 2000.
MGM, which is planning to develop a US$10 billion integrated resort in Osaka, Japan, said The Mirage had reported Adjusted Property EBITDAR of US$154 million for the year ended 31 December 2019. The Company expects net cash proceeds after taxes and estimated fees to be approximately US$815 million.
Hard Rock International had been pursuing the development of an IR in Hokkaido, Japan but was forced to withdraw when Hokkaido Governor Naomichi Suzuki announced the prefecture’s withdrawal from the IR race in late 2019. After substantial interest around 2017 to 2019 in the Japanese IR development process, many of the world’s major IR operators have publicly announced their withdrawal from Japan, or have effectively done so by a lack of activity.
