Bally’s share price soars on back of bid from Standard General
Investment firm lays out $15 per share offer for outstanding stock in the Rhode Island-based business
Standard General has submitted a $15 per share bid for the remaining outstanding shares in Bally’s in a move that has sent the operator’s share price soaring.
The investment firm delivered a non-binding letter to the Bally’s board of directors today, 11 March, as detailed in a US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing.
The $15 per share offer represents a significant premium of 42% on the firm’s closing price of $10.55 on Friday 8 March.
At the time of writing, Bally’s shares have spiked more than 25% up to $13.33 following the announcement of the offer.
The SEC filing states, as per the proposal letter, that Standard General expects the Bally’s board to appoint a “special committee of independent directors to consider its proposal and make a recommendation to the board of directors”.
Standard General said it would not move ahead with the transaction unless it was approved by such a committee.
The SEC filing added that there could be no assurances that the transaction will be approved or completed.
Standard General, which was established by Bally’s chair Soo Kim in 2007, owns 23% of the New York-listed firm.
In January 2022, Standard General put forward a bid to acquire the remaining shares of the operator at a price point of $38 per share.
However, any transaction at the time failed to materialise after Bally’s terminated discussions in favour of a so-called ‘Dutch auction’ (a descending price auction), which eventually saw stock worth more than $108m purchased by investors.