Home Economy Economic Activity Bally’s stockholders approve merger with Standard General L.P.

Bally’s stockholders approve merger with Standard General L.P.

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PBN Staff

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11/20/2024

THE STOCKHOLDERS of Rhode Island-based Bally’s Corp. on Wednesday agreed to accept a buyout offer from hedge fund Standard General L.P. in a deal that values the casino operator at $4.6 billion.

PROVIDENCE – Bally’s Corp.’s stockholders on Wednesday agreed to accept a buyout offer from New York-based hedge fund Standard General L.P. in a deal that values the casino operator at $4.6 billion. The deal, which the company agreed to on July 25, allows Standard General, which already owns a 23% stake in Bally’s, to acquire

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PROVIDENCE – Bally’s Corp.’s stockholders on Wednesday agreed to accept a buyout offer from New York-based hedge fund Standard General L.P. in a deal that values the casino operator at $4.6 billion. The deal, which the company agreed to on July 25, allows Standard General, which already owns a 23% stake in Bally’s, to acquire the remaining shares at $18.25 per share, a 35% premium to the closing price on July 25. The price represents a 71% premium over the company’s 30-day volume-weighted average price per share, as of March 8. Soohyung Kim, managing partner of Standard General, is also chairman of the Bally’s board of directors. Standard General will merge Bally’s into its regional casino chain, The Queen Casino & Entertainment, when the deal closes which is expected in the first half of 2025. When Standard General made its first buyout offer in 2022, which was rejected eventually by Bally’s, a R.I. Department of Revenue spokesperson said the state did not anticipate a buyout would have any material impact on Bally’s Rhode Island operations or its commitments to the state. Bally’s began considering a buyout offer since March when it formed a special committee to evaluate Standard General’s proposal. On April 2, Fitch Ratings reduced Bally’s credit grade to “B” from “B+” and changed its outlook to “negative,” citing increased competition in online gaming and sports betting. That was preceded by downgrades from Moody’s Investors Services and S&P Global Ratings. Standard General previously offered Bally’s $38 per share for its remaining shares in 2022, which would have valued the casino operator at about $2 billion. Bally’s has a 20-year deal with the state to operate legal gambling in partnership with International Game Technology PLC. In January 2023, Bally’s sold the properties and buildings of Bally’s Tiverton Casino & Hotel in Tiverton and Bally’s Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Biloxi in Biloxi, Miss., to Gaming & Leisure Properties Inc. for $635 million. With the merger, Standard General will expand to 19 gambling, entertainment and hospitality facilities across 11 states. On Nov. 7, Bally’s Corp. reported a loss of $247.9 million in the third quarter of 2024, after reporting a $61.8 million loss in the same period a year ago. The company posted revenue of $630 million in the third quarter, down slightly from $632.5 million a year prior.