MGM Resorts has announced that they have sold the Bellagio in to a joint venture with the Blackstone Group. The joint venture will be controlled by Blackstone but MGM will hold a 5 percent share in it and receive $4.2 billion cash.
The MGM will lease back the Bellagio for an initial rent of $245 million a year with the deal expected to close by the end of this year. The Bellagio is on 77 acres of land with 3,900 hotel rooms and a 155,000 square foot casino.
MGM with this sale and the sale of Circus Circus should net around $4.3 billion to use for a potential casino license in Japan as well as paying down debt as well as other projects.