After watching rivals Las Vegas Sands and Wynn Resorts garner hundreds of millions of dollars in additional investments, MGM Mirage last week began the move to issue an initial public offering on the Hong Kong stock exchange for a minority interest in its Asian gaming operations.

David Katz, gaming and hospitality analyst for Oppenheimer & Co., reported last week that "Management indicated it is pursuing a Hong Kong IPO, with which its JV supports. The company also expects to generate $300 million to $500 million for MGM from the sale of a 20 percent - 30 percent stake, which implies a relatively high multiple compared with other deals."

The report comes at a time when MGM Mirage stock is under pressure to perform, particularly following the December opening of CityCenter, the company's $8.5 billion Las Vegas gamble.

Katz is bullish on CityCenter, raising his projected annual revenue from $136 million to $196 million.

By Staff