Diller pulled his MGM bid but kept 26.5%. In June he said he would not vote for a sale to anyone else.

Barry Diller's company pulled its bid for MGM on Sept 23. It had offered $48.30 a share in cash. The stock fell about 11% the next day. It is now near $34.

Most stories stopped there. Two things in the filings matter more if you own MGM.

First, his company, People Inc., is not selling. It still owns 66.8 million shares. That is 26.5% of the company. It has not traded a share in 60 days. It says it is still open to some other deal.

Second, look at the letter People sent MGM's board in June. It said People had no plan to sell its stake. It also said it would not vote for a merger that hands control to someone else.

Here is why that matters. A merger needs a yes from more than half of all shares, not just the ones that vote. Say a 26.5% owner votes no. Then a new buyer needs about 68% of all the other shares to vote yes. A share that does not vote counts as a no.

There is one catch. In April, People agreed that any votes it has above 25.73% will follow how other owners vote. So the math barely moves.

What we don't know: whether that June promise still holds now that the bid is gone. And what price MGM's board wanted.

My take: with no buyer, MGM now trades on its own results. Last summer's quarter was weak because of the MGM Grand remodel. I think this summer's profit beats it.

Does anyone see a way to sell MGM that does not go through Diller?

Sources:
https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/789570/000110465926110214/xslSCHEDULE\_13D\_X02/primary\_doc.xml
https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/789570/000110465926068674/tm2616473d1\_ex99-1.htm
https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/789570/000078957026000029/mgm-20260403.htm