Weeks after securing financing to build its planned Chicago casino, Bally’s has struck a deal to sell the company to its largest shareholder. New York hedge fund Standard General, which owns about 25% of Bally’s, reached an agreement with the board Thursday to buy out the rest of the stockholders at $18.25 per share, valuing the casino company at $975 million.
The deal to take the Rhode Island-based Bally’s private, which is pending shareholder and regulatory approval, is expected to close during the first half of 2025. Ballyâ€TMs Casino inside of Medinah Temple in Chicago on April 11, 2024. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune) “What it says is that myself and some of the other large inside shareholders believe that the future is bright, and want to put our money where our mouth is,” Soo Kim, chairman of Bally’s and founding partner of Standard General, told the Tribune Thursday.
As part of the deal, Bally’s will be merged with Queen Casino & Entertainment, which is majority owned by Standard General and operates four casinos in three states, including DraftKings at Casino Queen in East St. Louis. The combined company would own 19 casinos in 11 states, including three in Illinois.
In March, Standard General submitted an offer to buy out the rest of the stockholders at $15 per share, valuing the company at about $648 million. The Bally’s board formed a special committee and retained Macquarie Capital as its financial adviser to evaluate the offer and explore strat.