Bally’s shareholders approve $4.6bn merger with Standard General

Bally’s Corporation’s stockholders have approved the definitive merger with its largest shareholder, Standard General, as the multi-billion-dollar deal edges closer to completion.

The $4.6bn deal was first announced in July 2024, with the American hedge fund Standard General already owning 23% of the operator and agreeing to pay $18.25 per share in cash for the outstanding shares.

The deal will see Bally’s combine with land-based casino The Queen Casino & Entertainment (QC&E) as part of the merger. The casino is privately held and majority-owned by funds managed by Standard General.

At the time, the offer represented a 71% premium on the firm’s 30-day volume weighted average price per share, as of March 8 2024.

Standard General had previously launched a $15-per-share offer in March which was rejected by Bally’s at the time,

At a special meeting of shareholders held on November 19, the merger with Standard General was approved by remaining Bally’s shareholders.

Standard General, Sinclair Broadcast Group and Noel Hayden, the founder of Bally’s-owned Gamesys, had previously given their backing to the deal.

As part of the merger, shareholders who elected to have their shares remain issued and outstanding as of 5pm Eastern Time on November 19 will be assigned a new CUSIP number, with company shares to be traded under the new ticker symbol BALY.T on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).

These rolling company shares were flagged as an option to stockholders. Shareholders could choose to retain all or a portion of Bally’s stock via a rollover election.

At the time of closing on November 19, Bally’s shares on the NYSE were worth $17.86.

A statement on the Rhode Island-based firm’s website read: “Closing of the transactions contemplated by the merger agreement is anticipated to occur in the first half of 2025 and remain subject to the receipt of regulatory approvals and the satisfaction of other customary closing conditions.”

At the time of the initial announcement in July, Bally’s CEO Robeson Reeves said: “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 EBITDA growth and value accretion as those projects are completed in 2025.”

At the start of November, Bally’s agreed to sell its Asia-facing online arm to the division’s current management team to focus further on its North American and European operations.