Dubai World Investments Makes Move in Las Vegas.....MGM Mirage...

[KoKo]

Dubai World to invest in MGM Mirage
Wed Aug 22, 2007 2:31PM EDT

By Chris Reiter

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Dubai World said on Wednesday it will invest up to $5.2 billion in MGM Mirage (MGM.N: Quote, Profile, Research) by buying shares and half of a major Las Vegas project, making the state-owned investment firm a major player in the biggest gambling destination in the United States.

MGM shares jumped as much as 10.5 percent and its bonds rallied on the pending $3.9 billion cash infusion stemming from the deal, as well as the premium Dubai offered for the shares.

Dubai, part of the United Arab Emirates, has become an influential player in global business and tourism, attracting U.S. oil services firm Halliburton Co (HAL.N: Quote, Profile, Research), which recently opened a headquarters office there.

Increasingly, the emirate, which is building what it says is the world's biggest airport, has been making waves far away from the Gulf. Borse Dubai has bid $4 billion for Nordic exchange owner OMX AB (OMX.ST: Quote, Profile, Research), while Dubai World's Istithmar investment unit earlier this month beat rivals with a $942.3 million bid to buy luxury clothing store Barneys New York from Jones Apparel Group Inc (JNY.N: Quote, Profile, Research).

MGM Chief Executive Terry Lanni said Dubai's connections to high rollers from the Middle East, Russia and India will open up new opportunities and boost its growth prospects.

"This is just the beginning," Lanni said in an interview with Reuters. "This opens the door for us to explore other opportunities."

MGM has been expanding overseas as new development prospects dwindle in Las Vegas, where it operates 11 casinos including the Bellagio, Mandalay Bay, and Circus Circus.

It plans to open the MGM Grand Macau in China's gambling haven in the fourth quarter. It signed joint ventures with China's Diaoyutai State Guesthouse and Abu Dhabi's Mubadala Development Co. earlier this year to develop luxury hotels and resorts around the world.

http://www.reuters.com/articlePrint?articleId=USN2241435520070822