MGM Mirage, the gaming and entertainment group, has surrendered its takeover bid for Wembley, the US-based casino operator with a number of racecourses in the UK.

MGM’s withdrawal now leaves the way clear for BLB, a property and gaming consortium, led by South African entrepreneur, Sol Kerzner, to acquire Wembley’s operations.

MGM had initially opened the bidding for Wembley in January, when it tabled a 750p per share offer – only to see its bid trumped by an 800p offer from BLB.

After announcing that it was ‘considering its options’, MGM then returned to the table with an 840p bid.

However, BLB again raised the stakes by offering 860p per share, valuing the Wembley business at £310m – an offer that MGM was reluctant to top.

J. Terrence Lanni, MGM chair, said: “To make a higher bid would not be the best use of our resources, in light of other opportunities that are available to us.”

Last month, MGM announced that it had reached an agreement to develop casinos in the UK with Peel Holdings – in a deal believed to be worth around £650m.

BLB is now left as the sole bidder for Wembley, which generates around 90 per cent of its revenue from its video lottery terminals at its Lincoln Park track in Rhode Island.