Barry Diller is making his next big move as People Inc. (previously IAC) submitted a non-binding proposal to acquire control of MGM Resorts International. The plan would be to buy outstanding MGM shares that People doesn’t already own and take the publicly-traded company private.

People Inc. already holds a sizable 26% stake in MGM Resorts. The proposal, offering $48.30 per share in cash, values the casino giant at $18 billion.

“We believe that MGM’s assets and businesses are not currently realizing their full potential in the public markets and that it will be difficult to correct this situation in MGM’s current form as a public company,” Diller wrote in a June 1 letter to the MGM Resorts’ Board of Directors.

“We began investing in MGM nearly six years ago because we believed it represented a rare kind of business: one with real world assets that AI cannot easily replicate or disintermediate and exceptional digital growth opportunities. That conviction has only strengthened over time,” said Diller, who is People’s chairman and senior executive. “We continue to believe the market materially undervalues the power and durability of MGM’s assets. We believe MGM’s management team is superb, and that there is a compelling opportunity to support MGM’s next phase of growth and help unlock its full value.”

The deal would be financed by a combination of existing cash on hand at People and at MGM and additional debt and equity funding commitments. People would end up controlling the MGM business with about 50.1% of the equity. Other investors, which may include existing shareholders of MGM, may hold minority interests. 

Diller called the offer a “high certain transaction.”

The proposal reps a premium of 24% to the volume-weighted average price of MGM common stock for the 30 trading days ending on May 29, 2026, a more than 30% premium to the stock’s volume-weighted average price for the 90 trading days ending on the same date, and a 10.6% premium to the most recent closing price.

Diller’s IAC rebranded to People Incorporated in April.

The man with ambitions to be the next UK Prime Minister is set to headline a new film and TV event in Manchester championing talent in the north of England.

Andy Burnham will topline the Mythos Manchester event next Thursday at an event alongside the likes of BBC iPlayer and channels boss Dan McGolpin and Emily Feller, Chief Creative Officer at Adolescence producer Warp Films.

The new event comes with Greater Manchester bidding to be the new home of the Edinburgh TV Festival, which is currently exploring options to move.

Burnham, the Mayor of Greater Manchester, will deliver the keynote at the ABC Buildings in St John’s District. Burnham is about to fight a by-election that will see him return to UK parliament amid what almost the entire country believe is the beginning of a leadership challenge against unpopular Labour leader Keir Starmer. This political psychodrama has dominated UK news for weeks.

Others speaking at Mythos include Caroline Simpson from GMCA, Phil Hunt, founder of Head Gear Films and Bankside Films, Richard Fee of Quay Street Productions, Rob Page from Screen Manchester and Space Studios, Screen Yorkshire’s Caroline Cooper Charles, Isabel Davis from Screen Scotland and Dead Man’s Shoes writer Paul Fraser.

Manchester has a rich TV and film heritage, having been home to classics like Queer as Folk and 24 Hour Party People. Last night, Russell T. Davies’ Tip Toe, set in Manchester’s famous Canal Street, launched on Channel 4. The city and wider region is currently bidding to take the Edinburgh TV Festival from 2027, which would be the first time the fest has relocated in its 50 year existence. Greater Manchester is into the final three versus Newcastle and Edinburgh.