IAC’s Barry Diller Joins MGM Resorts Board After Taking Stake

(Bloomberg) -- Billionaire Barry Diller joined the board of MGM Resorts International, days after his IAC/InterActiveCorp announced a $1 billion stake in the casino operator.

IAC Chief Executive Officer Joey Levin also joined the MGM board, expanding it to 14 members, MGM said in a statement Thursday.

“We believe that Barry and Joey bring the know-how and vision to help us to marry our online and resort-based experiences,” MGM CEO Bill Hornbuckle said in the statement.

IAC, a media and internet company with more than 150 brands and products, announced Aug. 10 that it had built a 12% stake in MGM, just weeks after it spun off online dating giant Match Group Inc. The investment, an unusually large one for IAC, is a bet on the Las Vegas company’s small but fast-growing online gambling operations.

MGM shares were down 0.8% to $20.74 at 9:46 a.m. in New York. The stock has risen 9% since the disclosure of the IAC stake, while IAC has slipped 4.5%.

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