Published on: September 21, 2025, 09:00h.

Updated on: September 20, 2025, 10:41h.

• Miami Pension Fund labels Bally’s owner a “vulture hedge fund”
• Accuses Standard General’s acquisition approach as “coercive”
• Claims Sinclair Broadcasting supported Kim’s hedge fund strategy

The Miami Police Pension and Relief Fund contends that Standard General’s 2024 proposal to purchase regional casino operator Bally’s placed numerous investors at a disadvantage, claiming that some major shareholders assisted Soo Kim’s hedge funding tactics through a “coercive” acquisition approach.

In a lawsuit filed in the Delaware Court of Chancery, the Miami law enforcement pension plan has named Kim, Bally’s CEO Robeson Reeves, President George Papanier, and various other senior executives. In March 2024, Standard General, headed by Bally’s Chairman Soo Kim, submitted an initial takeover offer of $15 per share, which was later increased to $18.25 per share, a proposal that was ultimately accepted by the gaming giant. This came 26 months after the hedge fund sought to purchase Bally’s in January 2022, offering $38 per share, a move that left the Miami police retirement fund disgruntled about the unfolding events.

“In simple terms, ‘hedge fund vulture’ Kim and Standard General could not engage in a fair transaction and demanded a coercive deal structure that significantly undervalued Bally’s and its minority stockholders for the equity part they obtained,” as stated in the legal documentation.

The $4.6 billion transaction was finalized in February. The Miami Police Pension and Relief Fund claims that Standard General was afforded the opportunity to acquire Bally’s through several strategic maneuvers, suggesting that the buyer’s endeavor was bolstered by additional influential investors.

Sinclair Broadcasting Allegedly Complicit

The Miami pension fund explicitly calls out Sinclair Broadcasting (NASDAQ: SBGI), asserting that the media company played a crucial role in aiding Standard General to amass greater shares of Bally’s, thereby compelling the casino operator to accept a substandard acquisition proposal.

“Collectively, Kim, Standard General, (Noel) Hayden, and Sinclair (hereafter referred to as the ‘Control Group’) held 53% of the Company’s fully diluted shares prior to the Transaction and 48.3% of the Company’s fully diluted shares when excluding out-of-the-money options owned by Sinclair. If it were not for their pre-signing agreement to carry over their equity alongside Standard General, the Transaction would likely not have taken place since Standard General lacked the financial resources to finalize the acquisition,” as detailed in the lawsuit.

Noel Hayden founded Gamesys, a UK-based interactive gaming firm that Bally’s purchased for $2.7 billion in March 2021, making him a key shareholder in the casino entity.

The Miami Police Pension and Relief Fund also contends that Kim’s subsequent step involved leveraging Bally’s debt using the firm’s own revolving credit resource.

“Moreover, Kim insisted that Bally’s secure additional Transaction financing by accruing substantial debt from the Company’s own credit framework. Accessing these funds required Bally’s to first settle its credit obligations using capital from newly executed actions, significantly overburdening the post-Transaction company and diminishing its overall value,” according to the lawsuit.

Special Committee Allegedly Lacked Independence

In March 2024, Bally’s established a special committee to scrutinize Standard General’s offer. Such committees are intended to maintain independence, but the Miami police pension plan argues that Bally’s committee was far from impartial.

The plaintiffs allege that the three committee members had “close connections to Kim” and were incentivized with “highly lucrative job opportunities,” extra payments, and promises of stakes in rolling equity. Such underhanded advantages could have skewed the playing conditions in favor of Standard General, as per the investors’ claims.

Furthermore, the Miami pension plan asserts that although the committee had limited alternatives, it failed to leverage what opportunities it had to attract other bidders. When Standard General’s offer emerged, some experts speculated that Bally’s potential for attracting additional bids was impaired by various factors, including regulatory challenges in the UK and disappointing results in its North American digital operations.

“The Committee (i) neglected to pursue unsolicited inquiries from potential bidders early in the sale process, (ii) declined bondholders’ proposals to waive change-of-control triggers that would have normalized the Transaction costs for both the Control Group and competing bidders, (iii) conducted a hasty and restricted market evaluation and then obstructed engagement with alternative buyers, and (iv) allowed a conflicted board member, Jaymin Patel (who is Bally’s Vice-Chair and an advisor to Kim), to interface directly with Kim, thus neglecting their responsibilities to progress the process,” wrote the plaintiff’s counsel.

Patel is explicitly mentioned in the lawsuit. The pension investors argue that the committee surrendered to Kim and his hedge fund’s pressures and failed to uphold their fiduciary obligations to communicate the optimal course of action to shareholders concerning their shares. The plaintiffs further accuse Bally’s of distributing a “misleading” proxy statement that omitted crucial details about the special committee’s favorable ties to Kim.