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Media mogul Barry Diller’s People offers to buy MGM Resorts for over $18bn

Aerial view of the south Las Vegas Strip, including the MGM Grand, Excalibur and New York-New York casinos, in 2022. Photograph: Michael Quine/Las Vegas Review-Journal via Getty ImagesView image in fullscreenAerial view of the south Las Vegas Strip, including the MGM Grand, Excalibur and New York-New York casinos, in 2022. Photograph: Michael Quine/Las Vegas Review-Journal via Getty ImagesBusinessMedia mogul Barry Diller’s People offers to buy MGM Resorts for over $18bnFocus on casino operator is sharp departure from media for Diller as markets remain volatile Media mogul Barry Diller’s People Inc said on Monday it had proposed to buy MGM Resorts, valuing the casino operator at more than $18bn. The offer comes just weeks after Diller, the digital media company’s chair, told shareholders in a 28 April letter that People would sharpen its focus on its MGM stake, calling the stock “wildly undervalued”. People currently owns 26.1% of the outstanding common stock of MGM. It is planning to bid $48.30 a share in cash for the remaining company, representing a premium of about 10.6% to MGM’s Friday close of $43.67. MGM’s shares rose more than 10% in premarket trading, while those of People – renamed from IAC in April – rose nearly 3%. Diller’s interest in MGM dates back to the Covid-19 pandemic, when he began accumulating shares in the casino operator when its shares were battered by closures and travel restrictions. MGM owns marquee properties that account for roughly 40% of the Las Vegas Strip. However, the casino operator has been struggling with sluggish footfalls in Las Vegas, and in recent quarters has relied on growth in its China properties, including Macau, and digital operations. The company’s BetMGM venture has also emerged as one of the leading US online sportsbooks, giving higher exposure to a digital gambling market that analysts have been bullish on. For Diller, MGM is a sharp departure from digital media, giving his group access to an industry focused on travel and tourism at a time when markets remain volatile. The offer also marks another major takeover attempt in the casino sector. Last week, the hospitality billionaire Tilman Fertitta’s firm announced the takeover of Caesars Entertainment in a $17.6bn deal.

Media mogul Barry Diller’s People offers to buy MGM Resorts for over $18bn
North America
CNBC

Disney is poised to ramp its already booming advertising business. Rita Ferro is behind the push

As Rita Ferro, Disney president of global advertising, prepared to take the stage at the company's recent upfront presentation, she had actor Paul Anthony Kelly on her mind. Kelly recently portrayed John F. Kennedy Jr. in the limited FX TV series "Love Story," and met Ferro at an earlier event. After a fangirl moment that included an iPhone snapshot, Ferro requested that Kelly introduce her at the annual pitch to advertisers. "That's the Disney difference: trust, innovation and unrivaled fandom. Not just with the stories they tell, but how they operate as a company," Kelly said on stage earlier this month. "And all of this is in large part due to Rita Ferro." Ferro is a 29-year veteran at Disney and has risen through various roles to the top of its advertising business. That places her at the center of a media industry rediscovering the importance of advertising, as traditional TV, streaming, digital and social platforms all jockey for viewers and ad dollars. While Disney and other media companies held shows in mid-May to dazzle advertisers, the negotiations to lock in commitments are currently underway. Ferro said in interviews with CNBC that she thinks fandom — from sports to entertainment franchises — is key to driving the Disney portfolio and what unites the company's divisions under newly installed CEO Josh D'Amaro. "When you think of 'One Disney,'" Ferro said, referring to the strategy being undertaken by D'Amaro, "and all of the opportunities to tie in brand partnerships with our movie studio partners, [and] the corporate alliance pieces that can tie into park activations, it's a far more interesting and dynamic opportunity than just a traditional media sales role." Ferro previously held roles at Disney at ESPN International, Disney Media Network's Kids and Family, and Disney Interactive, which no longer exists but had focused on the development and distribution of video and mobile games, social media and other digital products. In 2018, Ferro became president of advertising in the U.S., and in 2023, she took over the business globally. She now leads all advertising sales for Disney's entertainment, news and sports properties across linear TV, digital and streaming. "Everyday you're learning, everyday is different and we spend so much time outside learning our partners' businesses," she said. "That's what I love." The daughter of Cuban immigrants who came to the U.S. just before the start of the Cuban Revolution, Ferro was born and raised in Miami. She moved to New York City after graduating from Florida International University with the intention to become a copywriter and art director. After one class, she said, it became clear she wasn't suited for that career. Ferro said she soon got involved in fundraising for a production company that showcased Latino comedians and "realized that I was much better at that side." She got her start in the media ad industry working for MTV in Latin America before its official launch.

Disney is poised to ramp its already booming advertising business. Rita Ferro is behind the push
North America
CNBC

A hotly debated lung cancer drug cut the risk of death by 34% in a late-stage trial in China

An experimental lung cancer drug from Akeso and Summit Therapeutics reduced the risk of death by 34% in a closely watched late-stage trial, according to results released Sunday. When combined with chemotherapy, the drug kept people with squamous non-small-cell lung cancer alive for a median of four months longer than the standard combination of immunotherapy and chemotherapy, a result that was statistically significant, according to an abstract released Sunday ahead of a presentation at the American Society of Clinical Oncology's annual meeting. The Phase 3 trial was conducted in China, and a global Phase 3 study is ongoing. "The fact that it shows an improvement in overall survival in a difficult-to-treat patient population is very encouraging," said Dr. Suresh Ramalingam, executive director of the Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University. "I'm mindful of the fact that this trial was done exclusively in China, and that brings up the question of how do these data apply to patient populations outside of China, and that will require future investigations." Called ivonescimab, the bispecific antibody targets PD-1 — similar to Merck's best-selling drug Keytruda —and VEGF — similar to Roche's Avastin. It's become the subject of intense debate in the oncology and investment communities. Some say ivonescimab and similar drugs could be a successor to Merck's wildly successful cancer drug Keytruda, while others warn it'll disappoint like other once-promising ideas such as drugs targeting TIGIT, an immune receptor. The dueling narratives are reflected in the stock price of U.S.-based Summit Therapeutics, which licensed the rights to ivonescimab outside of China from Akeso. Shares of Summit have skyrocketed nearly 600% in the two years since Summit said ivonescimab more effectively controlled tumors than Keytruda in a separate China trial. The stock has slid in the past month over concerns the drug won't be as effective in a global population. Previous studies have showed ivonescimab can effectively control tumors, an endpoint known as progression-free survival. That's typically not enough to seek approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, which wants proof that cancer drugs can keep people alive longer. Older VEGF drugs that effectively controlled tumors struggled to improve survival, which raised doubts that ivonescimab's early promise would hold. In the Harmoni-6 trial being presented Sunday, ivonescimab combined with chemotherapy kept people alive for a median of 27.9 months versus 23.7 months for people who received a standalone PD-1 drug and chemotherapy, an improvement of four months. "It's not clear how meaningful that is," said Dr. Deborah Doroshow, associate professor of medicine, hematology and medical oncology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. "It's certainly, it's not two months, but it's also not a huge difference, and I think in terms of whether or not living four months longer is meaningful absolutely depends on the person who is living it." People receiving immunotherapy in the control group lived an average of six months longer than expected, raising questions about whether the trial enrolled a representative patient population and whether the advantage of ivonescimab might be better than reported in the study, said Doroshow, who serves on the steering committee for the ongoing Harmoni-3 global trial of ivonescimab. One possible reason for the discrepancy is that the study was conducted in China, where people have historically responded better to standalone PD-1 and VEGF drugs, said Emory's Ramalingam. The only way to determine whether combining the two in one molecule produces different results for broader populations is to run additional studies in the West, he said. Until then, Ramalingam called the trial results "good news" for Chinese patients. "There is a new approach in squamous cell lung cancer that extends survival by about four months, which is a substantial improvement given that this is a patient population where progress has come in small steps," he said.

A hotly debated lung cancer drug cut the risk of death by 34% in a late-stage trial in China
North America
CNBC Economy

Iran war cost: Average U.S. household paying $450 more on gas and energy

Americans have spent nearly $450 extra per household on rising energy costs during the Iran war, according to an analysis shared exclusively with CNBC's Steve Liesman. The average household has shelled out $447.19 for additional fuel-related expenses since the conflict began on Feb. 28, data from Moody's Analytics found. That's cumulatively cost American consumers nearly $60 billion as gas prices and airline fares have surged. Moody's data puts a dollar amount on a portion of the economic pain Americans are feeling as the war reaches its three-month mark. Higher energy costs can force consumers to raid their savings and lean more on debt to cover expenses. "Unless the war ends soon, financially pressed consumers will have no option but to turn more cautious in their spending, threatening the already soft economy," said Mark Zandi, Moody's chief economist. If prices stay at current levels, the average household could take a hit of almost $2,000 at the one-year mark of the war, Zandi said. Roughly half of the increased energy spending so far comes from higher gasoline prices. The average unleaded gallon in the U.S. cost about $4.39 on Friday, up more than 47% since the start of March, according to AAA. Pricier diesel, which is used in vehicles like delivery trucks and boats, has resulted in more than $20 billion in additional expenses for consumers. The price of diesel has similarly jumped roughly 47% since the beginning of March to around $5.52 a gallon, per AAA. Consumers have given up nearly $10 billion as a result of rising costs for jet fuel. Airline fares climbed more than 20% in April compared with 12 months ago, federal government inflation data shows. That nearly $450 impact more than erased the boost of $384 per household from bigger tax returns this year under President Donald Trump's "big, beautiful bill," according to Moody's. Most of the benefits from larger tax cuts have already been exhausted, Zandi said. Goldman Sachs said it expects higher energy prices to "erode" consumers' spending power through the rest of 2026. It should specifically hamper lower-income households that spend a larger percentage of budgets on food and energy, the bank said. Costco saw "record-breaking" gas volumes at the end of its fiscal quarter as drivers sought out its lower-priced fuel, the wholesaler said Thursday. McDonald's CEO Chris Kempczinski warned this month that consumer spending — specifically among lower-income cohorts — "may be getting a little bit worse" as energy prices pinch pocketbooks. Consumer spending rose 0.5% from March to April, according to government figures released Thursday. But other data points show that isn't necessarily coming from discretionary funds.

Iran war cost: Average U.S. household paying $450 more on gas and energy
North America
CNBC

Investors and labels are buying into the growing South Asian music business in the U.S.

When music executive Anjula Acharia began launching superstar actress Priyanka Chopra Jonas into Hollywood in the early 2000s, her label partner Jimmy Iovine — the name behind pop sensations such as Eminem and Lady Gaga — told her she was 20 years too early to bring South Asian talent to the U.S. Now, Acharia is the founder and CEO of 5 Junction, a joint label with Warner Music Group focused specifically on investing in South Asian artists in the U.S. "That sounded crazy, to think we were 20 years too early, but now, 20 years later, with the explosion of people like Diljit Dosanjh and Karan Aujla ... there's all these South Asian acts that are coming here and really selling out, particularly in the live arena," Acharia told CNBC. The South Asian music market in the U.S. has remained largely untapped, but as music becomes more globalized, as with the success of K-pop and Latin acts, South Asian talent is making a case to investors as the next big business opportunity, Acharia said. Global music revenues are reaching all-time highs, surpassing $30 billion in 2025, according to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry. Spotify said last year that streams of Indian artists in international markets grew more than 2,000% between 2019 and 2023, and nearly 50% of royalties from Indian artists on the platform in 2024 were from listeners outside India. With South Asia's growing population and diaspora, it's set to be one of the fastest-growing segments within global music, according to Acharia. "We're in a different time, and I think digitally things travel just so much faster," she said. "A lot of big hits were made with samples from Indian music, so it's been in the zeitgeist for a long time — it's just not been given a face." As more labels look to the subcontinent, Acharia said the business is currently in a stage of experimentation, figuring out what works and how the fan bases will evolve. Warner Music Group is the third-largest music label in the U.S., holding roughly 17% market share by distribution ownership as of the first quarter of 2026, according to Billboard. "I think the business proposition is this global Indian fandom," she said. "How do we galvanize this audience and this fandom, and how do we serve it?" 5 Junction represents top artists such as singer and songwriter Rhea Raj, who told CNBC she's seeing South Asian music become more mainstream in the U.S. "We're seeing more artists at bigger festivals and at award shows, and I think the best of it's yet to come," Raj said. Raj and her sister, Lara Raj, of the girl group Katseye, are two of many South Asian artists in the U.S. building out fan bases that span backgrounds and ethnicities.

Investors and labels are buying into the growing South Asian music business in the U.S.