Bally’s has moved forward to finally sign a merger agreement with Standard General L.P. affiliates.
The terms of the deal state that Standard General will acquire Bally’s outstanding shares for $18.25 per share. Bally’s will now be combined with The Queen Casino & Entertainment.
Soo Kim, Managing Partner of Standard General, said, “The transaction provides Bally’s stockholders with a significant cash premium along with certainty of value for their investment or, if they elect to retain their shares, the opportunity to participate in the longer-term growth prospects of our expanded portfolio and significant development pipeline.
“The addition of the complementary QC&E assets builds upon the company’s attractive growth profile. We look forward to working with the Board of Directors and the company’s senior management team as they continue to execute on their business plan.”
To support the merger, Standard General has obtained $500m of the committed financing.
Bally’s Board of Directors approved both the per share cash merger consideration and the transactions that were unanimously recommended by the company’s special committee.
Special Committee Chairman Jaymin Patel commented, “After a detailed consideration by the Special Committee, with the assistance of our outside financial and legal advisors, it was determined that the Cash Consideration from Standard General delivers a meaningful and immediate value to stockholders.
“We look forward to working with the team at Standard General and QC&E as we move through the process to complete the merger.”
Bally’s CEO Robeson Reeves further discussed the agreement in more detail by saying, “Our team is well positioned to continue to execute on our initiatives to drive growth across all our segments including in our International Interactive business, North America Interactive and our Casinos & Resorts segments, while proceeding with our development pipeline, including construction of our permanent casino resort in Chicago, for which we recently announced a comprehensive financing plan.”