Bally’s Acquired by Standard General for $4.6 Billion in Cash

Bally’s Corporation (BALY) entered a definitive merger agreement on July 25, 2024, to be acquired by its largest shareholder Standard General L.P., in a deal that values the casino and gaming company at $4.6 billion, including debt.

Deal Structure:

Under this agreement, Standard General, which owns about 26% of the company, will acquire Bally’s remaining outstanding shares for $18.25 per share, representing a premium of 34.99% from the stock’s last close.

Instead of getting the cash consideration, Bally’s stockholders can choose to keep some or all of their Bally’s stock through a rollover election.

Company Profile:

Bally’s is a global casino-entertainment company with an omnichannel presence, owning and managing casinos, a golf course, a racetrack, online gaming operations, a sports betting platform, and an iCasino platform, and holding Online Sports Betting (OSB) licenses in 18 states.

Deal Details and Timeline:

After the deal, Bally’s will merge with Queen Casino & Entertainment (QC&E), a regional casino operator primarily owned by funds managed by Standard General.

QC&E owns and operates four casinos across three states and is undergoing major redevelopment at two properties, set to be completed in 2025. Merging with Bally’s will expand its facilities to 19 across 11 states and enhance its development pipeline.

As a result of the merger, at least 47% of Bally’s outstanding fully diluted equity interests will be transferred into the combined company.

Bally’s current EV/EBITDA (TTM) ratio is 17.48, above the sector median of 10.73.

In March, Standard General made an offer to acquire the remaining stake in Bally’s for $15 per share. The stock had been trading at $10.62 per share before the bid from the hedge fund. However, the current offer comes at a significant discount from the bid that Standard General had made in 2022 for $38 per share.

Standard General has obtained $500 million of financing for the deal, which is expected to close in the first half of 2025.

Deal Metrics:

For a more comprehensive understanding of this M&A transaction, please visit our Deal Metrics page here:

Deal Metrics for the acquisition of Bally’s Corporation (BALY) by Standard General L.P.

The Deal Metrics page for each merger or acquisition includes:

• A timeline chart tracking the merger from announcement to completion or failure.
• Key events throughout the merger process, including HSR period expiry, regulatory approvals, shareholder votes, etc.
• SEC filings and news updates.
• A history of deal updates.
• And several other valuable insights.

Disclaimer: This article is intended for informational purposes only. We urge you to conduct your own research before initiating any securities transactions based on this information. The content and data provided in this article are not guaranteed for completeness or accuracy.

Editor’s Note: Baranjot Kaur contributed to this article