Casino operator MGM Mirage, majority-owned by billionaire Kirk Kerkorian, said Wednesday that it plans to raise $2.5 billion through stock and bond offerings to pay off some of its more than $14 billion in debt and strengthen its balance sheet.

Kerkorian’s Tracinda Group, which holds about 53.8 percent of MGM’s stock, plans to buy approximately 8.1 million more shares. MGM Mirage had about 276.6 million outstanding May 5, according to a regulatory filing.

Las Vegas-based MGM Mirage, which said it also is modifying an existing loan agreement, plans to raise approximately $1 billion from a public offering of 81 million shares and $1.5 billion from private placement of senior notes. It will used the proceeds to pay off $1.05 billion in debt maturing this year that it and its Mandalay resort issued plus at least $750 million of a credit line.

MGM Mirage still faces the challenge of “driving shareholder returns under (the) burden of” more than $14 billion in debt, an analyst warned.

The private placement will include notes due in 2014 and 2017 and secured in part by a first-priority lien on the Bellagio Hotel and Casino and The Mirage.

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