{"id":219618,"date":"2022-07-01T18:39:57","date_gmt":"2022-07-01T23:39:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=219618"},"modified":"2022-07-01T19:07:48","modified_gmt":"2022-07-02T00:07:48","slug":"caesars-wraps-up-william-hill-non-us-sale-for-730m-in-net-proceeds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/caesars-wraps-up-william-hill-non-us-sale-for-730m-in-net-proceeds\/","title":{"rendered":"Caesars Wraps Up William Hill Asset Sale to 888, Will Allocate Cash to Paring Debt"},"content":{"rendered":"

Caesars Entertainment (NASDAQ:CZR) announced today that it closed the sale of William Hill\u2019s international assets to 888 Holdings.<\/p>\n

\"Caesars
A William Hill betting shop in the UK. Caesars completed the sale of the sportsbook operator’s non-US unit to 888 Holdings. (Image: Sky News<\/em>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

After counting for fees and taxes, the US casino giant is garnering $730 million in net proceeds, meaning the gross sale price was around $765 million — far less than the $1.09 billion<\/a> the companies agreed to when the deal was announced last year.<\/p>\n

After the repayment of debt and other working capital adjustments, Caesars received net proceeds of $730 million. Caesars intends to use the net proceeds to reduce outstanding indebtedness,\u201d<\/strong> according to a statement issued by the casino operator.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The gaming company closed its $3.69 billion purchase of William Hill last year. When that acquisition was announced in late 2020, Caesars management swiftly announced it would divest the UK-based sportsbook operator\u2019s non-US assets to raise cash. There was no shortage of rumored suitors<\/a> for what is one of Europe\u2019s most venerable sports wagering brands.<\/p>\n

For Caesars Debt Reduction Effort, Every Little Bit Helps<\/h2>\n

When Caesars originally announced plans to auction off William Hill\u2019s international business, there was speculation it could fetch as much as $2 billion, perhaps more.<\/p>\n

\n

Obviously, the gaming company is hauling in significantly less than that.\u00a0 But with $13.5 billion in debt<\/a> at the end of the first quarter — one of the largest burdens in the gaming industry — any contribution to reducing that figure is meaningful for Caesars.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Confirming that the current market environment isn\u2019t hospitable toward debt-riddled companies, shares of the Flamingo operator are off almost 59% year-to-date.<\/p>\n

Caesars can further materially pare its debt burden with the expected sale of one of its Las Vegas Strip assets. An announcement to that effect was expected in the first half of this year. While it has yet to materialize, there is speculation that Caesars is holding talks with possible suitors regarding the Flamingo.<\/p>\n

Prices Declining for Sports Betting Assets<\/h2>\n

Another potential factor in Caesars\u2019 favor is free cash flow. Some Wall Street analysts see the Harrah\u2019s operator morphing into a free cash flow generating machine<\/a> as it accelerates its pace of debt reduction, sells underperforming assets, and reins in spending.<\/p>\n

While the pace of consolidation activity and rumors to that effect in the sports wagering industry remain solid, slumping share prices are leading to altered acquisition agreements, and Caesars\u2019 deal with 888 isn\u2019t the only example.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Earlier this week, Light & Wonder (NASDAQ:LNW) and Endeavor Group Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EDR) said they are altering the purchase agreement<\/a> for the former\u2019s OpenBet sports wagering technology platform. It will now go for $800 million in cash and stock, down from an original purchase price of $1.2 billion.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Caesars Entertainment (NASDAQ:CZR) announced today that it closed the sale of William Hill\u2019s international assets to 888 Holdings. After counting for fees and taxes, the US casino giant is garnering $730 million in net proceeds, meaning the gross sale price was around $765 million — far less than the $1.09 billion the companies agreed to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":46,"featured_media":219619,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[32093,1074],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nCaesars Wraps Up William Hill Non-US Sale For $730M In Net Proceeds<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Caesars closed its sale of William Hill international unit to 888 Holdings.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/caesars-wraps-up-william-hill-non-us-sale-for-730m-in-net-proceeds\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Caesars Wraps Up William Hill Non-US Sale For $730M In Net Proceeds\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Caesars closed its sale of William Hill international unit to 888 Holdings.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/caesars-wraps-up-william-hill-non-us-sale-for-730m-in-net-proceeds\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Casino.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Casino.OrgNews\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-07-01T23:39:57+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-07-02T00:07:48+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/WH.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"900\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Todd Shriber\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@etfgodfather\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Casino_Org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Todd Shriber\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/caesars-wraps-up-william-hill-non-us-sale-for-730m-in-net-proceeds\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/caesars-wraps-up-william-hill-non-us-sale-for-730m-in-net-proceeds\/\",\"name\":\"Caesars Wraps Up William Hill Non-US Sale For $730M In Net Proceeds\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/caesars-wraps-up-william-hill-non-us-sale-for-730m-in-net-proceeds\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/caesars-wraps-up-william-hill-non-us-sale-for-730m-in-net-proceeds\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/WH.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-07-01T23:39:57+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-07-02T00:07:48+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/f4cecf70a5032bc4e60eb73fc86d4a85\"},\"description\":\"Caesars closed its sale of William Hill international unit to 888 Holdings.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/caesars-wraps-up-william-hill-non-us-sale-for-730m-in-net-proceeds\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/caesars-wraps-up-william-hill-non-us-sale-for-730m-in-net-proceeds\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/caesars-wraps-up-william-hill-non-us-sale-for-730m-in-net-proceeds\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/WH.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/WH.jpg\",\"width\":1600,\"height\":900,\"caption\":\"A William Hill betting shop in the UK. 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