US firm pulls out of Wembley bidding war
MGM Mirage has decided against increasing its £308m (€454m) bid for Wembley PLC in the face of a higher rival offer.
MGM Mirage’s move takes it out of the running for Wembley, but spokesman Alan Feldman said his company could restart the process if rival BLB Investors failed to complete the deal.
Last month, BLB Investors countered MGM Mirage’s offer with a £310m (€457m) bid.
“We will make no further bids,” Feldman said yesterday.
“However, should BLB be unsuccessful in completing their offer, we would have to have special permission to enter a new bid.”
Terry Lanni, MGM Mirage’s chairman and chief executive, said: “To make a higher bid would not be the best use of our resources in light of other opportunities that are available to us.”
Marc Falcone, a New York gambling analyst with Deutsche Bank, says he thinks Wembley’s board of directors will accept BLB’s latest offer.
In addition to the Lincoln Park dog racing track in Rhode Island, Wembley operates greyhound tracks in Wimbledon, Manchester, Birmingham, Oxford and Portsmouth.
It is the parent of Aurora, Colorado-based Wembley US, which owns one horse track and three greyhound racing tracks in Colorado.
Falcone said it made sense for MGM Mirage not to raise its bid given its other investments in Britain.
MGM Mirage and Manchester-based Peel Holdings PLC, a British developer, intend to build casinos in three British cities and an entertainment complex in a fourth.
In February, MGM Mirage also announced plans to build a hotel-casino next to the Meadowhall Shopping Centre in Sheffield, one of Britain’s largest retail centres.
MGM Mirage also has a 25% interest in British casino developer Metro Casinos Ltd.
