BALLY’S CORP. MAKES $100M OFFER FOR ALLIED ESPORTS ENTERTAINMENT

Casino owner Bally’s Corporation has made an unsolicited $100M USD acquisition offer for Nasdaq-traded Allied Esports Entertainment, Inc.

The offer is subject to the condition that, should Allied accept, it must cancel its previously announced $78.25M sale of the World Poker Tour to investment group Element Partners. As things stand, the Element deal is expected to close at the end of this month, pending stockholder approval.

Bally’s proposal includes a $10M reverse break-fee (payable by Bally’s should they break the deal due to a failure on its part), and $3M to cover the termination fee if Allied breaks its agreement with Element Partners.

In a statement, Allied Esports Entertainment, Inc., said: “There can be no assurance that the company will enter into a definitive agreement with Bally’s or consummate any transaction with Bally’s. 

“The company’s Board of Directors, consistent with its duties and the company’s obligations under its existing agreement with Element, will evaluate Bally’s proposal in due course. The company and Element continue to discuss potential updates to the current terms of their agreement.”

Bally’s currently owns and operates eleven casinos and a horse racetrack in the United States, and holds 13 authorised OTB licenses in Colorado. Over the past year the company has been making big investments in the digital space. Last November it announced a $125M agreement to acquire Bet.Works, while this year it has unveiled plans to acquire daily fantasy sports platform Monkey Knife Fight, and last month confirmed it had acquired free-to-play provider SportCaller.

AYO.NEWS says:

Whether or not Allied Esports Entertainment decides to cancel the WPT sale and take Bally’s offer, this proves just how keen the traditional casino operators are to get in on the wider esports and video gaming space – a desire no doubt catalysed considerably by the experiences of the COVID-19 crisis.