MGM Resorts International said it would form a publicly traded real estate investment trust comprising 10 properties, including the Mirage, a move that will simplify the company's structure and shift about $4 billion debt off its balance sheet.The company also reported a better-than-expected quarterly profit, helped by a rise in revenue from casino at its wholly owned U.S. resorts such as Bellagio and MGM Grand Las Vegas. MGM's shares rose as much as 7.5 percent to $23.40 on Thursday."We wanted to create a vehicle and a financing platform by which we could lower our cost to capital and raise funds for future growth opportunities," Chief Executive Jim Murren said on a conference call.
MGM Resorts International is a holding company. Through its wholly owned subsidiaries, the Company owns and operates casino resorts. Shares of MGM traded higher by 4.69% or $1.02/share to $22.78. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $16.84 and as high as $23.70. On average, 8164410 shares of MGM exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 14396890.
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