Standard General Bally’s Acquisition Unlikely to Face Antitrust Threats

Posted on: September 16, 2024, 05:41h. 

Last updated on: September 17, 2024, 09:30h.

Todd Shriber @etfgodfather Read More
Expertise: Financial, Gaming Business, Mergers and Acquisitions.

Standard General’s proposed $18.25 per share takeover of Bally’s (NYSE: BALY) appears unlikely to face antitrust scrutiny from federal regulators because the related waiting period on that matter is set to expire at midnight Monday.

Bally's
Standard General founder Soo Kim. The hedge fund won’t face federal regulatory scrutiny related to its planned acquisition of Bally’s. (Image: Meet AC/Casino.org)

Citing two unidentified sources close to the matter, CFTN reported Monday that the Hart-Scott-Rodino (HSR) Act guidelines pertaining to the deal will expire Monday night, with no need for Standard General to file a second request with federal regulators.

Under the Hart-Scott-Rodino (HSR) Act, parties to certain large mergers and acquisitions must file premerger notification and wait for government review. The parties may not close their deal until the waiting period outlined in the HSR Act has passed, or the government has granted early termination of the waiting period,” according to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).

Standard General — the hedge fund that’s the largest investor in Bally’s — floated a $15 per share takeover offer in March. That was upped to $18.25 a share, which the regional casino operator accepted in July.

Standard General Bally’s Buy Not Big Enough to Draw FTC Concern

The proposed deal assigns an enterprise value of $4.6 billion to Bally’s and while that isn’t a small amount of money, it’s not the price point at which the FTC would consider making the buyer make adjustments to the initial deal structure.

Rumors that Standard General is passing HSR mandates with aplomb arrived as there’s mounting concern in the business community that under Chairwoman Lina Khan, the FTC has taken too hard a line against industry, including moves to stifle some large-scale mergers and acquisitions.

For example, the FTC sued to block the $24.6 billion merger of Albertsons and Kroger — the largest deal on record in the grocery store industry — because it’s anticompetitive. Some states have taken up that mantle, too, and have launched their own antitrust investigations into the merger.

Some Democrat donors have reportedly encouraged Vice President Kamala Harris to fire Khan should the former win the presidential election in November. The Harris campaign hasn’t publicly said if such a move is on the table.

Next Steps for Standard General

With federal antitrust concerns apparently not an issue, the next step for Standard General is dealing with regulators in the states in which Bally’s operates land-based casinos. Those are Colorado, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nevada, New Jersey, and the gaming company’s home state of Rhode Island.

Due to Standard General being a hedge fund and not a direct competitor to Bally’s, significant job loss or venue closures appear unlikely to result from the acquisition, which could be the liking of state gaming regulators. Likewise, it appears unlikely that a spate of asset sales will be required as has been the case with larger gaming industry mergers.

Standard General is aiming to have the Bally’s acquisition wrapped up in the first half of 2025.