William Hill Approached by 888 and Rank For Gambling Merger

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William Hill approached by 888 and Rank for betting merger

UK betting firm William Hill has been approached by rival gaming companies 888 and Rank Group about a merger.

William Hill said it would "listen to and consider" any proposal.

However, it was not clear that a combination of William Hill, 888 and Rank would "provide superior worth", the business said, external.

Online operator 888 and Rank, the UK's most significant casino chain, stated they saw "significant commercial reasoning in the mix".

William Hill said the technique was "highly initial", while Rank and 888 stated they had actually not yet made an official bet9ja's welcome offer to the bookmaker's board.

Shares in William Hill increased 4.8%, while 888 shares increased 3.4% and Rank lost 0.5%.

'Surprise'

the yohaig code relocation comes simply days after William Hill's president, James Henderson, was ousted from the UK's most significant betting shop operator following a series of revenue cautions.

Mr Henderson, who took the helm in August 2014, had failed to resolve problems in the firm's having a hard time online company.

In May, its latest trading upgrade, the firm said, external net earnings had fallen 11% in its online department in the 17 weeks to 26 April.

William Hill's shares have dropped 21% since the start of the year, valuing the former FTSE 100 company at ₤ 2.7 bn.

David Jennings, an analyst at Davy, said the news was "undoubtedly a surprise, offered that the combined value of 888 and Rank is ₤ 1.7 bn".

Rank and 888 said there was "no certainty that any transaction will eventually occur".

Rank's president, Henry Birch, is a former head of William Hill's online department.

Under UK takeover guidelines, the firms have until 21 August to either make a firm deal or leave.

The prospective bid comes after William Hill attempted to obtain 888 last year in a ₤ 720m bet9ja's welcome offer, but the bet9ja's welcome offer collapsed after 888 rejected the deal as too low.

Since then, competing wagering firms Ladbrokes and Gala Coral have actually agreed a ₤ 2.3 bn merger which got preliminary regulator approval in May.

The combined group would make it larger than William Hill, currently the biggest UK bookmaker based on variety of shops.