MGM to Get $1.1 Billion for Crystals

Sun, Apr 24, 2016

CityCenter Holdings, an MGM Resort subsidiary, agreed to sell the 324,000-squre-foot Shops and Crystals luxury retail mall to investors for $1.08 billion, which will be paid by dividends. The mall opened in 2009, and initially struggled during the Great Recession, but has posted significant revenue gains in recent years. CityCenter is jointly owned by MGM Resorts International and Infinity World Development.

A pair of investors agreed to pay .08 billion to buy the Shops at Crystals mall in CityCenter in Las Vegas, MGM Resorts International announced.

CityCenter Holdings in March announced it would sell the upscale retail center to Invesco Real Estate and the Simon Property Group. MGM Resorts International and Infinity World Development jointly own CityCenter Holdings.

The Shops at Crystals opened as part of MGM’s massive CityCenter development at the center of the Las Vegas Strip, and has some 324,000 square feet of luxury retail space.

Among its featured retailers are Tiffany & Co., Prada, Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Dolce & Gabbana, and others.

The CityCenter board of directors this month agreed to accept a $990 million dividend and a separate $90 million dividend, which are to be paid during the second quarter.

Although it opened during the Great Recession and struggled amid the economic slowdown, MGM Resorts International CEO Jim Murren said the mall since has posted “significant operating growth and continued balance enhancement.”

MGM reported Crystals posted $69.1 million in net revenue last year, and $66.5 million in 2014. Its operating income rose from $16.4 million in 2014, to $18.3 million last year, MGM said.

Murren said the deal will return $540 million to MGM and Infinity World Development.