MGM Mirage completed its $2.6 billion restructuring effort last month as it works to get out from under an increasingly heavy debt load.

The company sold 164 million shares of company stock at $7 a share, raising $1.1 billion. The stocks included 143 million shares on the open market and 21 million shares purchased by the company’s underwriters.

The company also raised $1.5 billion in the private sale of senior secured notes using the Bellagio and Mirage as collateral.

“This marks a new beginning for our company,” said MGM Mirage chairman and CEO Jim Murren. “We are now well positioned to continue the work needed to achieve recovery and improve profitability.”

The sale reduced Kirk Kerkorian’s ownership percentage of the company—even with his company Tracinda Corp. buying 14.3 million of the common stock offering—from 53.8 percent to 39 percent. It is not expected to change how the company is run, however.

By Casino Connection Staff