Bally’s Investors Give the Green Light to Takeover from Standard General

Summary:

• Bally’s shareholders have approved the acquisition by Standard General.
• Standard General previously proposed two takeover offers, increasing their bid to $18.25 per share after an initial $15 offer.
• The acquisition will keep Bally’s listed on the NYSE and is set to finalize in 2025.

New York Stock Exchange-listed Bally’s Corporation has received the approval of its shareholders for a proposed acquisition by Standard General. The latter is the hedge fund that represents Bally’s largest investor.

This decision was announced after a special meeting of shareholders, moving the deal one step closer to completion.

Not the First Takeover Attempt

Earlier this year, in March, Standard General, led by Bally’s Chairman Soo Kim, made an initial acquisition proposal at $15 per share.

By July, the offer had been increased to $18.25 per share, a bid that Bally’s accepted.

However, this was not Standard General’s first attempt to take over the company. The New York City-based hedge fund that oversees assets for institutional investors, high-net-worth individuals, and employees had previously made an offer of $38 per share in January 2022, 26 months before the latest proposal.

A recent statement issued by Bally’s explained that the

merger agreement has been adopted by the affirmative vote of the holders of a majority of the outstanding shares of the Company’s common stock as of the October 21, 2024 record date for the Special Meeting

affirmative vote of the holders of a majority of the holders of the outstanding shares of the Company’s common stock

The approval did not involve shares controlled by Standard General itself, Sinclair Broadcasting, Noel Hayden, or “certain executive officers and a director of the company”.

No Status Change

An unusual aspect of this acquisition is that Bally’s will continue to be listed on the stock exchange.

Most takeovers by private entities result in the delisting of the target company’s stock, but Bally’s shareholders can choose to hold “rolling company shares” that remain publicly traded.

Initially, the ticker symbol will change to “BALY.T” but will eventually revert to “BALY,” as per the company’s announcement.

The stock will remain listed on the NYSE.

No Regulatory Hurdles Expected

The acquisition is anticipated to finalize within the first half of 2025, with little expectation of regulatory hurdles. Since Standard General is not another gaming entity, there are few competitive concerns for state regulators.

Bally’s currently operates 15 casinos across 10 US states, and state-level regulators will have a say in the final approval.

However, since the acquirer isn’t a competing gaming company, the likelihood of any significant state opposition is minimal.
The acquisition is being conducted through Queen Casino & Entertainment Inc., an affiliate of Standard General.