Rank and 888 No Longer Eye Merger With William Hill
August 18 2016 - 12:20PM
Dow Jones News
LONDON—Rank Group PLC and 888 Holdings PLC no longer intend to
make an offer for William Hill PLC, a move that would have been the
latest big deal amid a flurry of consolidation in the gambling
industry.
Casino and bingo hall operator Rank Group and online gambling
group 888 Holdings made two offer proposals to bookmaker William
Hill, the latest one valuing it at 394 pence a share, equivalent to
around 2.5 billion pounds ($4.5 billion).
"The proposed transaction would have created a transformational
force in the global betting and gaming industry and the U.K.'s
largest multichannel gambling operator by revenue and profit and
was expected to have unlocked substantial cost and revenue
synergies," said Rank and 888 in a stock exchange statement
Thursday.
"Notwithstanding 888 and Rank's belief in the inherent value of
their proposals, it has not been possible to meaningfully engage
with the board of William Hill," they added.
William Hill said following the Rank and 888 announcement that
it will continue to focus on diversifying digitally and
internationally and that it now expects full-year adjusted
operating profit to be at the top end of its previously guided £
260 million to £ 280 million range.
The merger talks were part of broader consolidation in the
European gambling sector amid rising competition and taxation and
tighter regulation.
In February 2015, 888 terminated talks and rejected a possible
offer from William Hill as the companies failed to agree on an
offer value. Later in 2015, 888 lost a bid to GVC Holdings PLC
after the latter clinched a deal to buy online gambling firm
Bwin.party digital PLC for £ 1.12 billion.
Razak Musah Baba contributed to this article
Write to Rory Gallivan at rory.gallivan@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
August 18, 2016 13:05 ET (17:05 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
Entain (LSE:ENT)
Historical Stock Chart
From Apr 2024 to May 2024
Entain (LSE:ENT)
Historical Stock Chart
From May 2023 to May 2024