Bally's Stock Gains on $350 Million Share-Buyback Plan
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Bally’s' board authorized a $350 million share buyback. And the company closed a U.K. deal and completed a debt package.
Bally's (BALY) - Get Bally's Corp. Report shares rose Monday as the casino operator said the board authorized it to buy back $350 million of its shares.
Bally’s also said it had closed its acquisition of U.K. online gaming operator Gamesys and completed its $4.07 billion debt package.
The $350 million in possible share purchases represents 15% of Bally’s $2.39 billion market capitalization.
The Providence, R.I., company's stock recently traded at $53.44, up 0.7%. It has traded on Monday above $55, up as much as 3.7%. And it has surged 13% in the past month.
In August, Bally’s disclosed that it bought back 1.8 million shares for $33.3 million in the first six months of the year.
“Given the company's strong balance sheet, ample liquidity, and substantial free cash flow generation, Bally's expects to evaluate capital opportunities regularly, which includes repurchasing outstanding shares,” it said Monday.
In other casino news, Las Vegas Sands (LVS) - Get Las Vegas Sands Corp. (LVS) Report led U.S. casino shares lower in mid-September, after officials in Macau planned major changes to rules governing operations in the world's largest gaming hub.
Officials in Macau, a special administrative region of China, told casino operators rules may be revised for next year's auction of gambling licenses to include "government supervision" of their day-to-day operations.
Lei Wai Nong, Macau's secretary for economy and finance, launched a 45-day public consultation process that may also include new rules on the distribution of profits to shareholders.
He also suggested the government could "maintain or even reduce the number of concessionaires" in next year's bidding process.
Macau's gaming market generates around $37 billion in annual revenue, five times more than the collective take of the Las Vegas Strip.
