Standard General

What Standard General does

Standard General is a private investment firm founded and led by Soo Kim that specializes in large, complex situations in regulated and structurally challenged industries, with a current focus on gaming and media. The firm's most consequential recent action is the February 2025 completion of merger transactions with Bally's Corporation and The Queen Casino & Entertainment, financed through senior secured notes, which positioned Standard General as a significant shareholder in Bally's and gave the platform 19 casinos across 11 U.S. states along with online sports betting and iCasino operations. As of December 2025, Standard General is in active discussions to invest in — or potentially buy — Warner Bros. Discovery's cable TV assets (including CNN), which are being spun off following an $83 billion sale of WBD's studio and streaming units; the firm has been positioned as a counter-bidder to Paramount's hostile takeover approach. Standard General's business model is that of a classic event-driven / special-situations fund: it deploys capital into undervalued, operationally complex assets, often takes a controlling or influential stake, and seeks to drive value through M&A, capital structure, and strategic repositioning. The firm is privately held, with Soo Kim as the controlling figure; no institutional backers or public listing are disclosed. The customer base for Standard General's services is institutional and high-net-worth limited partners whose capital funds these investments, and the firm does not appear to sell traditional productized services — its "revenue" is generated through management fees and performance economics on its invested capital.

Name

Standard General

Legal name

Standard General

Website

https://standardgeneralcalgary.ca

Company type

Private

Founded year

1941

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Standard General is a private investment firm founded by Soo Kim that pursues large, complex situations in gaming and media. Following its February 2025 merger with Bally's and The Queen Casino, it holds a significant stake in a 19-casino U.S. gaming platform and is in discussions to invest in Warner Bros. Discovery's cable TV assets.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Investment Management

akta.pro primary industry

Equity Capital Introduction & Prime Services (FSACAFAK)

Keywords

• Private equity investments
• Mergers and acquisitions
• Investment management
• Portfolio management
• Strategic investments

Headquarters

HQ city

Calgary

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Others

Core offering

Standard General is a private investment firm founded by Soo Kim that deploys capital into operating companies through equity stakes, merger transactions, and strategic investments. The firm completed merger transactions with Bally's Corporation and The Queen Casino & Entertainment in February 2025, resulting in a stake in a 19-casino gaming platform spanning 11 U.S. states, and was actively pursuing a potential investment in Warner Bros. Discovery's cable television assets in December 2025.

Product overview

Standard General is an investment firm. No specific products or services are described in the available source material.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Cerberus Capital Management: Private investment firm known for special situations, distressed assets, and complex multi-party transactions with operational involvement. Closely comparable in approach to complex deals such as Standard General's Bally's three-way merger.
• Owl Creek Asset Management: Event-driven investment firm focused on special situations and corporate restructurings. Comparable in approaching complex situations across sectors with structured deal capabilities.
• Sandell Asset Management: Alternative investment manager with focus on special situations and activism across sectors. Comparable in multi-sector deployment and event-driven approach to complex situations.
• Davidson Kempner Capital Management: Alternative investment manager focused on event-driven and multi-strategy situations, including complex multi-counterparty transactions. Comparable in deal sophistication and willingness to engage in special situations.
• Brigade Capital Management: Alternative investment manager focused on distressed and event-driven situations. Comparable in structuring capability and appetite for complex credit and equity-linked transactions.
• Alden Global Capital: Investment firm with notable media and newspaper holdings. Highly relevant given Standard General's active pursuit of legacy media assets (WBD cable assets including CNN).
• Jana Partners: Activist investor focused on strategic events and special situations. Comparable in active engagement approach and willingness to take concentrated positions in pursuit of corporate change.
• Starboard Value: Activist investor with focus on strategic change at portfolio companies. Comparable in active engagement approach and willingness to take concentrated positions to influence outcomes.
• Elliott Investment Management: Activist investor and alternative asset manager with track record of large strategic deals and engagement in contested corporate control situations. Comparable in willingness to engage in hostile and contested deal environments such as the WBD situation.
• Apollo Global Management: Large global alternative investment firm engaged in complex leveraged transactions and special situations across sectors. Comparable to Standard General in deal scale, multi-sector exposure, and willingness to use structured financing such as senior secured notes.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/standardgeneralcalgary
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/standard-general-inc-calgary

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Standard General