Bally’s accepts buyout from its largest shareholder

Bally's Twin River Lincoln is quiet on the afternoon of Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024. (Christopher Shea/Rhode Island Current)

The corporation overseeing Rhode Island’s two casinos agreed Thursday to be acquired by its largest shareholder in a deal estimated to cost $4.6 billion.

Bally’s Corp. announced it accepted a $18.25-per-share buyout from Standard General, the New York hedge fund fund led by Soo Kim, who also serves as chairman for the Providence-based casino giant’s Board of Directors. Thursday’s sale price represents a 71% premium over the company’s 30-day volume weighted average price per share as of March 8, 2024, according to a news release.

“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,” Kim said in a statement Thursday afternoon.

Kim owns nearly 10.6 million shares of Bally’s stock — representing 26.1% of all shares.

The deal is not expected to impact day-to-day operations at Bally’s Twin River Lincoln and Bally’s Tiverton Casino, said spokesperson Patti Doyle.

Bally’s has been considering the proposal since March , when Standard General initially offered to acquire the remaining stake for $15 per share. In 2022, Kim unsuccessfully tried to make the company private at $38 per share.

Under the agreement with Standard General, Bally’s will combine with Queen Casino & Entertainment Inc., another Standard General company that owns four casinos across three states, Illinois, Iowa and Louisiana.

Pending federal regulatory approval from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the deal is expected to close during the first half of 2025. A change in ownership would also require approval from the Rhode Island Lottery to allow the company to continue operating in the Ocean State.

“The RI Lottery is in the process of reviewing today’s announcement from Bally’s,” Lottery Director Mark Furcolo said in an emailed statement. “No request has been submitted yet.”

Bally’s owns and manages 15 casinos across 10 states, a New York golf course, and a Colorado horse racetrack. The company in 2021 was awarded a 20-year deal with the state to operate legal gambling in partnership with International Game Technology.

This year saw Bally’s launch online gambling in Rhode Island , along with the General Assembly granting the company the ability to double the customer credit limit from $50,000 to $100,000 at the state’s two casinos and allowing the gambling giant to negotiate a new debt ratio with the state’s Division of Lottery and the Department of Business Regulation.

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