Standard General makes offer to buy remaining stake in casino operator Bally's

(Reuters) - Hedge fund Standard General on Monday offered to buy the remaining stake in Bally's Corp that it does not already own in a deal that values the casino operator at about $684 million.

Shares of Bally's, which offers online sports betting, surged about 26% in afternoon trade.

Standard General, which owns a near 23% stake in Bally's and is its largest shareholder, has offered to buy the remaining shares at $15 per share, a 41% premium to its last close.

The current offer is significantly discounted from its prior offer of $38.00 per share made in 2022 that valued the casino operator at about $2 billion.

Standard General in a letter to Bally's board said it expects the board to appoint a special committee to consider the offer, and "will not move forward" unless it is approved by the committee.

(Reporting by Aatreyee Dasgupta in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel)