888 to Purchase William Hill’s Businesses from Caesars
888 offered to purchase William Hill’s businesses outside the USA from Caesars for $3 billion. The deal will bring 888 closer to the top of the UK’s market with 1,400 new betting shops.
Read more about the ground-breaking new deal in our article below.
The Biggest Deal to Date
Since 888 made a list in the UK twenty years ago, the company had never had a bigger deal than this one. The company works mainly online in the UK, while William Hill has had an important presence on the land-based market with betting shops. Moreover, William Hill’s betting shops in the UK have enjoyed great success for years, and they will now pass into the hands of 888.
The deal costs £2.2bn (or $3 billion) and will move all William Hill businesses outside the United States of America to 888. However, given 888’s focus on online gambling, many wonder whether the newly owned shops would be sacrificed to boost the online focus. 888 CEO Itai Pazner says that that would not happen.
According to Pazner, the plan is to “keep the shops” because they are run well and profitable. Moreover, “they went through a big transformation in the last couple of years”. Ceasars purchased William Hill in April for £2.9bn, which signalled an increase in US-based companies purchasing London-listed brands.
Reverse Takeover
The deal is classed as a reverse takeover under UK’s listing rules mainly due to the size of the companies. Moreover, thanks to the deal, 888 will get a bigger share of the market shares in all active jurisdictions of William Hill. The active jurisdictions are Italy, Spain, and Nordic countries.
Furthermore, 888 expects the deal’s cost savings to reach 100 million per year. The trust with the most shares of 888, the Dalia Shaked Trust, fully supports the deal. Another contender for the shares of William Hill was Apollo, but 888 outbid the company.
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