Bally’s Corp. has turned down a buyout offer from its chairman’s investment firm that would have returned $38 per share, a 30 percent premium over the share price the day the offer was announced in January.
Bally’s, which is acquiring the Tropicana hotel-casino on the Las Vegas Strip, had formed a special committee of its board of directors to study the takeover offer from Standard General, the investment firm of which is managing director.
On May 12, Bally’s issued a press release saying it has “terminated consideration” Standard General’s proposal to acquire all of the shares in Bally’s that it does not already own. The operator also announced that its board determined Bally’s “should pursue initiating a cash tender offer for its shares,” and that the offer is expected to involve $300 million to $500 million.
Bally’s has “very substantial opportunities before it,” including the expansion of its property footprint in the U.S., CEO Lee Fenton said in the news release. “With these opportunities in front of us, we have great confidence in the future as we move forward,” Fenton said.
Kim said in the release that while “we are of course disappointed with the outcome of the discussions of our proposal, as we said from the outset, we intend to remain a supportive, long-term investor” in Bally’s.
Bally’s recently won the license for the only casino located in Chicago.
