Lucky hand: 888 to complete William Hill takeover by end of June following shareholder approval
Gambling giant 888 is expected to complete its takeover of William Hill sometime “on or around” 30 June following a successful shareholders seal of approval.
With nearly 307 million votes cast in favour of the move, 888 can now move forward with the nine-month long deal.
Shares in 888 surged last month after it announced that it had sliced the value of its upcoming William Hill acquisition due to the changing “macro-economic and regulatory environment”.
The deal agreed with US powerhouse Caesars Entertainment refers to William Hill’s non-US assets, which now have an enterprise value of between £1.95bn and £2.05bn, as opposed to the £2.2bn that was agreed last September.
The new agreement means 888 will now pay £250m less for an initial cash consideration, down from £835m.
The combination of 888 and William Hill is expected to deliver significant efficiencies, including pre-tax cost synergies of at least £100m.
888 currently expects to cumulatively achieve £5m of synergies in 2022 , £54m in 2023, £70m in 2024, and £100m in 2025.
On a practical level, 888 will also take control of William Hill’s 1400 UK betting shops, as well as online gaming brands Mr Green and Redbet.
Following shareholder approval, Non-Executive Chairman of 888 Lord Mendelsohn, , commented: “We are delighted with the support of our shareholders for our proposed acquisition of William Hill and would like to thank them for their continued, constructive engagement as part of this process.
“We look forward to completing this transformational acquisition at the end of June, creating a global online betting and gaming leader through the combination of two highly complementary businesses and two of the industry’s leading brands.”