MGM Resorts International has offered a seat on its board to Paul Salem, senior managing director of Providence Equity. It had to purchase another chair for Salem, though, as his addition brought the total number of directors up from 12 to 13, after increasing the number of directors last year from ten to 12.
Salem is reportedly the man that helped Providence, a leading investment firm for the media, education and communications sectors, grow from having $60 million in assets under management to around $170 million. In a statement by MGM Resorts Chairman and CEO Jim Murren, “Mr. Salem is a distinguished leader with over 26 years of experience in the financial services industry. Paul brings invaluable insight in corporate finance and asset management, and his strong track record of value creation has earned him an outstanding reputation within the investment and not-for-profit communities.”
Last year, MGM added two more positions to the board. According to Murren, “These appointments underscore the company’s commitment to proactively enhance its board and ensure that we have an appropriate mix of skills, experience and perspectives to successfully grow our business and drive sustainable value creation.”
Salem became part of the Providence Equity team in 1992. Prior to that, he had been working in the corporate finance, mergers and acquisition division for Morgan Stanley and at Prudential Investment Corp. in its private placement financings and leveraged buyout transactions division.
MGM Resorts has a number of casino operations around the world. It is based in Nevada and has resorts in Las Vegas, Detroit, Mississippi, Maryland and New Jersey. MGM is currently putting the final touches on the MGM Springfield in Massachusetts. That resort, scheduled to be opened today, will include a 125,000-square-foot casino with 2,550 slots, 120 table games and 23 poker tables.
Internationally, MGM operates two Macau resorts – the MGM Macau and MGM Cotai – through its MGM China Holdings Ltd. subsidiary. MGM is one of the many casinos hoping to win a casino license in the recently-approved Japanese casino market.
MGM also operates a Bellagio-branded hotel in Shanghai, which opened earlier this year. That hotel offers 162 luxury rooms and suites, but no gambling. Gaming is still illegal in mainland China.
