Bally’s Corporation Deal with Gamesys Gains Shareholder Approval; Shares Rise

Shares of the leading U.S. casino-entertainment company, Bally’s Corporation (BALY) gained 1.3% to close at $54.11 on June 30, after the company announced that its proposed business combination with Gamesys Group plc (GB:GYS) has received the necessary approvals from shareholders of both the companies.

After almost doubling in value in 2020, Bally’s shares have jumped 17% year to date. (See BALY stock chart on TipRanks)

The combined entity formed upon the integration of Gamesys’ premier gaming technology with Bally’s expanding U.S. gaming platform will be better-positioned to tap the growth potential of the rapidly growing U.S. online sports betting and iGaming market.

Soo Kim, Chairman of Bally’s Corporation’s Board of Directors, said, “By combining with Gamesys, we will meaningfully accelerate our growth strategy to become a premier, global, omni-channel gaming company, which we believe will create significant long-term shareholder value.”

The business combination is expected to close during the fourth quarter of 2021, subject to mandatory regulatory approvals.

Stifel Nicolaus analyst Steven Wieczynski recently increased the price target from $75 to $81 (49.7% upside potential) and maintained a Buy rating.

Wieczynski commented that the BALY stock has lagged behind its peers over the past several months due to concerns around upcoming financing for the pending GYS acquisition, wider execution risk given its recent high-speed M&A activity, and the timeline for a full-scale U.S. online gaming launch.

However, he remains confident about the company’s Gamesys deal execution, given management’s strong track record with prior M&A over the past several years.

Overall, the stock has a Strong Buy consensus rating based on 3 unanimous Buys. The average Bally’s price target of $72.33 implies 33.7% upside potential from current levels. Shares of BALY have jumped 144% over the past year.