MGM Mirage’s Murren Cutting Debt, May Sell Casinos

Jan. 8 (Bloomberg) -- MGM Mirage’s new chief executive officer, James Murren, said he plans to “dramatically” reduce debt and will consider further casino sales as he overhauls the company’s balance sheet.

Murren plans to refinance maturing bonds as bank lending resumes and markets open up. MGM Mirage may buy back some notes trading at discounted levels, either through market purchases or tender offers, he said in an interview yesterday. Nothing is off the table, said Murren, 47, who also was named chairman.

“We’re going to pull every lever we feel like we should pull to strengthen this company, to not only weather the recession, but come out of it stronger,” Murren said. “We are certainly not looking to aggressively sell assets, but the point is that we do have assets that are attractive and we are going to be very responsive.”