Twin River Acquires Bally’s Brand from Caesars

Article ByStan Fox

October 25, 2020

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Twin River Worldwide Holdings has recently announced a deal with Caesars Entertainment to acquire Bally’s brand for $20 million.

In April, Rhode Island-based company revealed its plan to purchase the Bally’s Atlantic City property from Caesars for $25 million. The deal included the casino’s multiple licenses, but not its name. However, the latest announcement suggests the property will persist with the existing name as it changes hands.

Old Wine in New Bottle?

There are currently only two casinos using the Bally’s name, while the other in Las Vegas is also operated by Caesars. Under the agreement, Twin River will allow Caesars to keep using the name for that property only, forever. For its part, Twin River will rebrand almost all of its existing properties using the Bally’s name. Its establishments include eleven casinos, a racetrack, and various off-track betting parlors. The gaming company will also change its name and ticker symbol.

Though the press release did not mention any price tag, the owner of the company that has a 38% stake in Twin River, Soo Kim, said that the name would cost $20 million, roughly as much as the property itself.

Twin River Takes Over Bally’s Brand

Many US casino companies have been trying to expand lately. Back in April, it was reported that Twin River purchased Bally’s Atlantic City. This week, the gaming company finally concluded a deal to acquire the entire Bally’s casino brand for $20 million.

Soo Kim had been focusing on expanding in the US for years. While speaking about the latest development, he said, “This is an opportunity for us to revive a brand that is synonymous with American gaming. We appreciate Caesars providing us with a chance to use a brand they weren’t utilizing.”

The Bally’s brand is a popular name among casino players, and Twin River seems to have realized the latent potential of its name. Soon, all of Twin River’s properties will be using this brand name.

Why Did Caesars Sell Bally’s Brand?

Though Twin River’s acquisition of Bally’s brand is striking news, for many people the bigger news is why Caesars, the world’s biggest gaming company, sold out its brand.

The name Caesars has long been established as a market leader, with huge casino resorts and establishments. In the recent past, the Nevada-based company has purchased many top-class gaming venues. In 2019, Eldorado finalized terms to acquire Caesars Entertainment for a whopping $4.2 billion. The subsequent merger made it the largest casino company in the US.

The newly-formed merged company retained the “Caesars” name. It is noteworthy that Caesars has continued its path to expansion. Recently, Caesars announced it was acquiring William Hill, one of the biggest and most successful sports betting entities in the world.

However, Caesar’s expansion does not necessarily mean it’s not interested in strategic moves like selling wherever it is required in order to make up for the cost of some recent purchases.