Kerkorian Buys More MGM Stock, But His Stake Drops

OSKAR GARCIA

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Billionaire investor Kirk Kerkorian bought 14.3 million more shares in MGM Mirage on Tuesday, but that wasn't enough to maintain his majority stake in the casino company as it issued new stock, regulatory filings show.

Kerkorian paid nearly $100 million for his portion of the 164.5 million new shares MGM Mirage issued, according to a filing he made with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The 91-year-old investor's total holding of 163.1 million shares is just 38.9 percent of the Las Vegas-based company's outstanding stock, down from 53.8 percent.

The offering netted $1.1 billion toward MGM Mirage's goal of raising $2.5 billion in new capital.

A spokesman for MGM Mirage declined comment and referred questions to Tracinda Corp., Kerkorian's private investment firm based in Beverly Hills, Calif. A spokeswoman for Tracinda did not immediately return a phone call from The Associated Press on Tuesday.

Shares of MGM Mirage dropped 40 cents, or 4.6 percent, to close Tuesday at $8.34, 84.2 percent below its 52-week high of $52.62.