MGM names board members for company’s planned REIT

MGM Resorts International said Monday that four company executives, including Chairman and CEO Jim Murren, will serve on the board of directors of the casino operator's planned real estate investment trust.

Murren, along with MGM President Bill Hornbuckle, MGM General Counsel John McManus, and Chief Analytics Officer Elisa Gois were named to the board for MGM Growth Properties. The REIT, which will be publicly traded, will own 10 MGM properties including seven on the Strip.

MGM Resorts will own 70 percent of the REIT and continue to operate the resorts.

The new board will also include two independent directors; Michael Rietbrock, the former head of global equity research at Nomura Securities, and Thomas Roberts, a former senior partner at Weil, Gotshal & Manges.

Dan Taylor, an executive at Tracinda Corp., which is MGM Resorts' largest shareholder, will also join the MGM Growth Proprieties board. Taylor is also an MGM Resorts board member.

Murren said the independent directors bring "experience advising companies on complex, high-profile situations coupled with his deep knowledge of corporate governance matters."

MGM Resorts hopes to launch the REIT this spring.

MGM Growth Properties will include Mandalay Bay, The Mirage, Monte Carlo, New York-New York, Luxor, Excalibur and The Park. The three regional resorts will include MGM Grand Detroit and Beau Rivage Biloxi and Gold Strike Tunica, both in Mississippi.

Contact reporter Howard Stutz at hstutz@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3871. Follow @howardstutz on Twitter.