888 consents to purchase William Hill European organization

9 September 2021

888 Holdings has actually concurred to buy William Hill's European business from its US owner in an offer worth ₤ 2.2 bn.

The online gambling firm stated the handle casino huge Caesars Entertainment would include William Hill's 1,400 UK betting stores.

888 primary executive Itai Panzer stated the acquisition would "develop one of the world's leading online wagering and gaming groups".

The offer is set to produce a combined group with more than 12,000 workers.

It will go for savings of about ₤ 100m a year as an outcome of the purchase.

888 said the acquisition would give it "substantially enhanced exposure to sports wagering, the world's biggest and fastest growing online section, with the addition of a renowned sports brand".

It also stated William Hill's High Street presence was a crucial aspect behind the move.

Mr Panzer included: "Our strategies are likewise complementary, being digitally led, client focused, and committed to gamer security and raising industry requirements around safer gaming.

"We are likewise thrilled about the opportunities that the retail service supplies and see considerable brand benefits."

William Hill chief executive Ulrik Bengtsson stated: "The William Hill and 888 strategies are extremely complementary with an outright focus on the product and customer experience.

"Scale is significantly essential in our sector and the mix of the businesses will provide a powerful positioning of brand names and technology."

An auction for the non-US side of William Hill's company, which consists of online operations across the UK and Europe, was started by Caesars Entertainment after it had obtained the betting giant in April for ₤ 2.9 bn.

The Caesars Palace casino owner just desired the company's US operations and stated from the outset that it intended to sell other parts of the service once the offer had gone through, triggering a race to purchase.

Tom Reeg, president of Caesars Entertainment, stated that he was "thrilled" the firm had actually "found an owner for the William Hill service outside the US which shares the exact same goals, approaches and longer-term ambitions of that organization".

US private equity firm Apollo was likewise in the running for the purchase of the European organization.

888's takeover is still subject to investor approval, and it will likewise need to be offered the go-ahead by the Financial Conduct Authority.

Lord Jon Mendelsohn, chair of 888, said: "Our company believe the acquisition will produce substantial value for shareholders, developing a combined organization with leading technology, products and brands throughout sports betting, gaming and poker, supported by premium management talent from both companies."

Founded in 1934, the William Hill brand started out when its founder established a postal and phone-based betting business.

It opened its first betting stores in the UK in the mid-1960s, soon after their existence on High Streets was made legal.

Questions had actually been raised about the worth of the brand's bricks-and-mortar shops, which were mainly closed throughout the pandemic.

In August last year, the business said it would not be resuming 119 of its betting shops after coronavirus lockdowns, saying it did not expect customers to return in the numbers seen before the pandemic.

William Hill to close 119 betting shops

5 August 2020