Bally Bet’s parent company officially accepted an offer this past Thursday from it’s largest shareholder that will add four more casinos to the company’s existing portfolio, and the company will remain public following the merger.
According to an official announcement, Bally’s will combine with The Queen Casino & Entertainment Inc. (“QC&E”), a regional casino operator majority-owned by funds managed by Standard General (together, the “Combined Company”).
Per the announcement: “Bally’s Corporation (“Bally’s” or the “Company”) (NYSE: BALY) announced today that it has entered into a definitive merger agreement (the “Merger”) pursuant to which Standard General L.P. (“Standard General”), the Company’s largest common stockholder, will acquire the Company’s outstanding shares for $18.25 per Bally’s share (the “Cash Consideration”). The price represents a 71% premium over the Company’s 30-day volume weighted average price per share as of March 8, 2024, the last trading day before the public disclosure of Standard General’s initial cash acquisition proposal of $15.00 per share. In lieu of receiving the Cash Consideration, Bally’s stockholders may elect to retain all or a portion of their Bally’s stock by means of a rollover election. Bally’s stockholders electing to retain all or a portion of their Bally’s investment will continue as stockholders of the Combined Company (as defined below). The transaction values Bally’s at approximately $4.6 billion in enterprise value. The Combined Company will remain a publicly traded registrant under the Securities Act of 1934.”
Standard General is the owner of Queen Casino & Entertainment, the owner of the following four casinos:
- Belle of Baton Rouge located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana
- Casino Queen Marquette located in Marquette, Iowa
- DraftKings at Casino Queen located in St. Louis, Illinois
- The Queen of Baton Rouge located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana
“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” Jaymin Patel, Chairman of the Special Committee said in the statement. “We look forward to working with the team at Standard General and QC&E as we move through the process to complete the merger.”
“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 (“C&R”) 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” Robeson Reeves, Bally’s Chief Executive Officer added.
“The addition of four complementary properties through this merger to our existing 15 domestic casino properties will add further geographic and market diversity to our portfolio. With QC&E’s development pipeline recently completed or already well underway, we see a path toward additional revenue and EBITDAR growth and value accretion as those projects are completed in 2025. We look forward to bringing our ultimate vision to bear and to working closely with the Standard General team to execute on that vision.”
Standard General has obtained $500 million of committed financing to support the merger, and it also brings together two prominent sports betting companies – Bally Bet and B2B/B2C operator Intralot.
“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” Soo Kim, Managing Partner of Standard General added. “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.”
