UPDATE: Tracinda Sees Value In MGM, But Could Sell Stock

Tracinda Corp., the investment vehicle of legendary investor Kirk Kerkorian, said Friday that it "may explore potential transactions" involving its sizable, long-term stake in MGM Resorts International (MGM).

"As MGM Resorts' largest stockholder, Tracinda occasionally receives inquiries" about its stake, Tracinda said in a filing with Securities and Exchange Commission.

"Tracinda continues to believe that there is substantial value in the assets of MGM Resorts and that the company is a good long-term investment," the Beverly Hills, Calif., firm said. "However, from time to time, Tracinda may explore potential transactions," it added, noting that it "may ultimately not enter into any transaction."

A Tracinda spokeswoman declined to discuss the matter further. An MGM spokesman said he had "no idea" what Tracinda would or wouldn't do with its stake, and said the company finds out about Tracinda's SEC documents at the same time as everyone else, when they are filed.

Kerkorian, 93 years old, was MGM's controlling shareholder until a mid-2009 stock offering by the company, owning more than half the outstanding shares. Late last year, Tracinda participated in a company offering and pared its stake by about 32 million shares, pocketing about $400 million in the process.

Tracinda's currently owns about 131.2 million shares, or just under 27% of the MGM stock outstanding, for a total present value of more than $1.9 billion. At MGM's all-time high in late 2007, Kerkorian's MGM stake was worth nearly $15 billion; in early 2009, as Wall Street worried that its expensive CityCenter project and other factors would drag the company into bankruptcy, the stake was only worth about $300 million.

In the release, Tracinda also said it "monitors its investment in the company by, among other things, contacting company management to address operations and market conditions."

MGM shares recently traded down 61 cents, or 4%, at $14.59 apiece.

-By Maxwell Murphy, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2171; [e-mail]