William Hill concurs ₤ 2.9 bn takeover by Caesars Palace owner

Caesars Entertainment, the Las Vegas casino-owner, has struck a ₤ 2.9 bn deal to take over UK wagering firm William Hill.

The boards of the US firm and William Hill concurred a money offer of 272p a share subject to shareholders enacting favour.

US private equity company Apollo had actually likewise tried to take over William Hill.

But Caesars stated that if the UK business chose Apollo, it would jeopardise a joint venture between them.

Caesars owns a 20% stake in William Hill's US operations, which also have unique rights to operate sports wagering under the Caesars brand.

The US firm, which owns Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas, is particularly thinking about William Hill's US bookmaking organization which currently has 170 retail sites in 13 various states.

In August William Hill said it would not be resuming 119 of its UK High Street betting shops after the coronavirus shutdown, stating it did not anticipate clients to return in the numbers seen before the pandemic.

William Hill said its directors would "all and unconditionally" advise that investors accept the deal.

The Caesars Palace owner intends to find other owners for William Hill's non-US services, including its more than 1,400 UK wagering shops.

It said it would integrate the US organization into Caesars with very little task cuts.

The agreement comes not long after William Hill said it was inclined to suggest Caesars' bet9ja's welcome offer.

Roger Devlin, chairman of William Hill, said: "The William Hill board thinks this promotion code is the very best option for William Hill at an attractive rate for shareholders."

Caesars president Tom Reeg stated: "The opportunity to combine our land based-casinos, sports betting and online gaming in the US is a genuinely exciting prospect."

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