Standard General is already Bally’s largest shareholder with more than 20 percent of its stock. The proposal would let Bally’s shareholders “immediately realize an attractive value, in cash, for their investment,” Kim wrote.
Kim, managing partner of Standard General, wrote a letter Tuesday to Bally’s board of directors offering to buy the shares his New York investment firm doesn’t already own for $38 apiece, saying this represents a 30 percent premium to Monday’s closing price. Kim spoke with the Review-Journal on Wednesday, the day after he unveiled an offer to buy out Bally’s, a publicly traded company based in Rhode Island with casinos in several states. “We’re open to it all,” he said, adding that demolishing the hotel-casino and building something from scratch could be one way to “maximize value.” He said management has not determined what it will do with the property but would consider anything from renovating the 1,470-room resort to “knocking it down and starting over.” Tropicana Las Vegas, a Rat Pack-era resort with a bygone history of mob ties, could see some big changes after it trades hands this year.Ĭasino operator Bally’s Corp., which is buying the Strip resort, would “almost certainly” look to rename the property Bally’s and likely look to redevelop the hotel-casino, chairman Soohyung Kim told the Review-Journal.
