A day after it unveiled plans to operate The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, MGM Resorts International said it closed a sale-leaseback of two other towering hotels on the Strip — with the Cosmo’s seller, no less.
MGM announced Tuesday that it completed its $2 billion-plus buyout of its partner in the multi-tower CityCenter complex, giving the casino operator full ownership of the Aria and Vdara resorts, and that it finalized its sale-leaseback of those properties with Blackstone.
The New York financial conglomerate purchased the hotels’ real estate for nearly $3.9 billion. As previously announced, MGM is leasing the properties back for an initial annual rent of $215 million.
