LAS VEGAS, Jan. 14, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- MGM Resorts
International (NYSE: MGM) ("MGM Resorts") today announced the
selection of James C. Stewart,
previously a managing director and head of the Gaming, Lodging and
Leisure Group at Greenhill & Co., as Chief Executive Officer of
MGM Growth Properties LLC ("MGP"). The Company also announced today
that Andy H. Chien, previously a
managing director of Real Estate, Gaming, Lodging and Leisure at
Greenhill & Co., has been selected as Chief Financial Officer
of MGP.
Stewart and Chien will be responsible for leading the formation
of MGP and its initial public offering, and they will be
instrumental in building a bench of leadership that positions MGP
for success. Both executives will be located in Las Vegas, Nevada.
"James and Andy are well known and highly regarded investment
banking leaders, and they bring to MGP more than 40 years of
collective advisory and financial experience that we believe is
critical to establishing a solid foundation for MGP," said
Jim Murren, Chairman & CEO of
MGM Resorts International. "In addition to his transaction
experience, James has a deep background in corporate strategy and
institutional leadership, both as a founder of Greenhill's
Los Angeles office and previously
as co-head of UBS Investment Bank's Los
Angeles office. Andy also has a proven record of identifying
and executing on complex financial strategies with regard to
mergers and acquisitions, capital planning and financing, and other
corporate finance activities. As we continue our path toward the
creation of MGP, the knowledge and expertise that James and Andy
bring will be invaluable in positioning MGP as a leading real
estate investment trust."
"MGM Resorts is one of the world's most recognizable names and I
am excited for the opportunity to become a part of this iconic
brand as CEO of MGP," said Stewart. "This is an important time in
the real estate industry, especially in gaming and leisure, where
there is significant potential for growth and value creation. I
look forward to harnessing all of the industry knowledge and
financial expertise I have gained over my career to build and lead
MGP forward as a premier REIT, with a strong operating partner in
MGM Resorts."
"I am pleased to join MGP to help establish and support the
REIT's business and financial foundation," said Chien. "REIT
strategies are deeply based in financial analysis and focused on
driving growth through prudent transactions, balance sheet
management and portfolio optimization. I look forward to partnering
with James and MGM Resorts in working toward a successful launch of
MGP."
On October 29, 2015, MGM Resorts
announced that it will create a controlled real estate investment
trust to which MGM Resorts will contribute ten premier real estate
properties (the "Properties"), including more than 24,000 hotel
rooms and more than 2.3 million square feet of convention and
meeting space. The Properties will include:
- Seven large-scale Las Vegas
resorts and entertainment properties: Mandalay Bay, The Mirage,
Monte Carlo, New York-New York, Luxor, Excalibur, and The
Park.
- Three regional casino resort properties: MGM Grand Detroit in
Michigan and Beau Rivage and Gold
Strike Tunica, both of which are located in Mississippi.
About James C.
Stewart
Stewart has more than 25 years of investment
banking experience focused on real estate, gaming and lodging
transactions. In addition to his prior role at Greenhill & Co.,
Stewart was also a founder of the firm's Los Angeles office. Prior to Greenhill &
Co., Stewart was a managing director at UBS Investment Bank, head
of its Gaming & Leisure Group and co-head of the Los Angeles office. Prior to UBS, he was at
Morgan Stanley, most recently serving as a managing director, where
he also focused on real estate, gaming and leisure. He began his
career at Salomon Brothers Inc.
Stewart earned his Master of Business Administration with
distinction from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College, where he was named an Amos Tuck
Scholar, and his Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Calgary.
About Andy H.
Chien
Chien has more than a decade of investment
banking experience in real estate, gaming, lodging and leisure, and
has executed more than $50 billion of
strategic transactions. Chien has significant expertise in
strategic, financial and operational analysis across debt, equity
and mergers and acquisitions for REITs and gaming, lodging and
leisure companies. Prior to Greenhill & Co., Chien was a
director at UBS Investment Bank in Los
Angeles, focused on real estate, gaming, lodging and
leisure. His previous experience also includes various roles at
Citigroup/Salomon Brothers, Commerce
One and Intel Corporation.
Chien earned his Master of Business Administration with Honors
from the Anderson School at UCLA, and
his Bachelor of Science, summa cum laude, from the University of Michigan.
About MGM Resorts International
MGM Resorts International (NYSE: MGM) is one of the world's
leading global hospitality companies, operating a portfolio of
destination resort brands including Bellagio, MGM Grand, Mandalay
Bay and The Mirage. The Company is in the process of developing MGM
National Harbor in Maryland and
MGM Springfield in Massachusetts.
The Company also owns 51 percent of MGM China Holdings Limited,
which owns the MGM Macau resort and casino and is developing a
gaming resort in Cotai, and 50 percent of CityCenter in
Las Vegas, which features ARIA
Resort & Casino. For more information about MGM Resorts
International, visit the Company's website at
www.mgmresorts.com.
Statements in this release that are not historical facts are
forward-looking statements, within the meaning of the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and involve risks and/or
uncertainties, including those described in the Company's public
filings with the SEC. The Company has based forward-looking
statements on management's current expectations and assumptions and
not on historical facts. Examples of these statements include, but
are not limited to, the Company's ability and ultimate decision to
complete the REIT transaction. These forward-looking statements
involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Among the important
factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from
those indicated in such forward-looking statements include the
operational complexities to be addressed by the Company to effect
the REIT transaction, the ability and timing of the Company's
receipt of regulatory approvals (including approval from gaming
regulators) regarding the REIT transaction, effects of economic
conditions and market conditions in the markets in which the
Company operates and the REIT will operate, the condition of the
U.S. debt and equity capital markets, the design, timing and costs
of expansion projects, risks relating to international operations,
permits, licenses, financings, approvals and other contingencies in
connection with growth in new or existing jurisdictions and
additional risks and uncertainties described in the Company's Form
10-K, Form 10-Q and Form 8-K reports (including all amendments to
those reports). In providing forward-looking statements, the
Company is not undertaking any duty or obligation to update these
statements publicly as a result of new information, future events
or otherwise, except as required by law. If the Company updates one
or more forward-looking statements, no inference should be drawn
that it will make additional updates with respect to those other
forward-looking statements.
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SOURCE MGM Resorts International