Blackstone selling Vegas hotel Cosmopolitan in $5.65B deal

LAS VEGAS (AP) — The owner of The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas is selling the 3,000-room Las Vegas Strip hotel in a $5.65 billion deal. New York private equity firm Blackstone said Monday that the new owners will be the Cherng Family Trust, headed by Panda Express billionaires Andrew and Peggy Cherng; real estate investment firm Stonepeak Partners; and a Blackstone real estate fund. MGM Resorts will take over operations in a side deal. The transaction needs regulatory approval and is projected to close in the first half of 2022. Blackstone says it has agreements with unions for about 3,000 employees to keep their jobs.