Ilitch and her husband, Mike, began their business empire in 1959 with the opening of a pizza parlor in suburban Detroit. “I’ve been around a pretty long time to know that you don’t break up a winning team,” she said. Ilitch told the gaming board yesterday she didn’t plan big changes in MotorCity’s management. She also is buying an 11.5 percent stake held by Atwater Entertainment, a group of more than 100 local investors, for $106 million, and the remaining 10 percent from another local investor, Tom Celani, for an undisclosed amount. Ilitch, who already owns 25 percent of MotorCity, is paying $525 million for the 53.5 percent stake owned by Mandalay Resort Group. Although it gave its approval to the deal, the Michigan board is expected to further scrutinize the financing and other details in the coming months.
The sale is contingent on the completion of MGM Mirage’s acquisition of Mandalay, expected by June 30. MGM Mirage already owns Detroit’s MGM Grand Casino, and Michigan law prohibits the company from owning more than one casino in the city. MotorCity, one of three Detroit casinos, is to be sold because of the pending merger between MGM Mirage Inc. The Michigan Gaming Control Board voted 4-0 to approve the sale.
