{"id":276535,"date":"2023-06-07T14:27:49","date_gmt":"2023-06-07T19:27:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=276535"},"modified":"2023-06-07T14:38:23","modified_gmt":"2023-06-07T19:38:23","slug":"alexander-led-group-takes-big-stake-in-888-holdings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/alexander-led-group-takes-big-stake-in-888-holdings\/","title":{"rendered":"Kenny Alexander Led Group Takes Stake in 888 Holdings"},"content":{"rendered":"

FS Gaming Investments, an investment group led by former GVC CEO Kenny Alexander, revealed Tuesday it has taken a 6.57% stake in William Hill parent 888 Holdings.<\/p>\n

\"Kenny
Former GVC CEO Kenny Alexander. His investment firm took a 6.57% stake in 888 Holdings. (Image: GVC)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It\u2019s the first move of note by Alexander since his surprise 2020 departure from GVC, which later became Entain Plc<\/a> (OTC: GMVHY). FS Gaming Investments also has financial backing from former GVC Chairman Lee Feldman and Shay Segev. Segev succeeded Alexander at GVC and was the architect of the gaming company\u2019s acquisition of Ladbrokes and its transformation to Entain.<\/p>\n

\n

The new 888 investors reportedly view the gaming company as undervalued owing to its nearly $2 billion in debt and a recent series of compliance missteps at William Hill<\/a> that led to some of the largest penalties ever levied by the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Those issues came to light after former chief executive officer Itai Pazner departed amid concerns about the operator\u2019s anti-money laundering protocols<\/a>. Pazner’s resignation arrived just days after it was revealed Yariv Dafna would vacate the chief financial officer role. Just two months prior, the Gibraltar-based company was slapped with compliance-related fines by the General Directorate for the Regulation of Gambling, which is Spain\u2019s gaming regulator.<\/p>\n

888, William Hill Marriage Has Been Bumpy<\/h2>\n

Last July, 888 paid $765 million<\/a> to Caesars Entertainment (NASDAQ: CZR) to acquire William Hill\u2019s non-US assets.<\/p>\n

At the time, it was viewed as a shrewd move by the buyer due to its dearth of sports betting exposure and the fact that William Hill is one of the most venerable brands in the European sportsbook landscape.<\/p>\n

However, the aforementioned compliance failures and the removal of the stock from the FTSE 350 Index have weighed on the shares, which are lower by 60% over the past 12 months. That\u2019s opened the door to outside investors, such as Alexander\u2019s FS Gaming Investments, to get involved and push for change.<\/p>\n

We welcome the investment of FS Gaming which we believe reflects the significant value creation potential in our business,\u201d according to an 888 statement issued to UK media. \u201cThe board remains highly confident in its long-term strategy to maximise value for shareholders. We look forward to updating and engaging with all our shareholders as we continue to deliver against our clear strategic and operational priorities.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Unidentified sources with knowledge of the matter told the Financial Times <\/em>that FS Gaming could push 888 to more efficiently integrate William Hill and, potentially, grant board seats to Alexander and Feldman.<\/p>\n

888 Could Be Takeover Target<\/h2>\n

Activist investors can argue for a variety of changes, including corporate actions such as asset divestments or outright sales. Both are seen as longer-ranging possibilities with 888.<\/p>\n

\n

The company has been the subject of takeover talk in the past and there is recent precedent for activist investors pushing for sales of European sportsbook operators. For example, Swedish online gaming operator Kindred Group Plc (OTC: KNDGF) is rumored to be readying itself for sale<\/a>, and it\u2019s likely Keith Meister\u2019s Corvex Management has a hand in that.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Potential buyers for 888 weren\u2019t identified, but due to its control of William Hill, the company could draw interest from Europe-based rivals as well as private equity firms if it decides to sell itself.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

FS Gaming Investments, an investment group led by former GVC CEO Kenny Alexander, revealed Tuesday it has taken a 6.57% stake in William Hill parent 888 Holdings. It\u2019s the first move of note by Alexander since his surprise 2020 departure from GVC, which later became Entain Plc (OTC: GMVHY). FS Gaming Investments also has financial […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":46,"featured_media":142011,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10,32093,1,1074],"tags":[81903,81966,81967,80968],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nAlexander-Led Group Takes Big Stake In 888 Holdings<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"888 Holdings targeted in first investment by Kenny Alexander's FS Gaming.\" \/>\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\/alexander-led-group-takes-big-stake-in-888-holdings\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Alexander-Led Group Takes Big Stake In 888 Holdings\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"888 Holdings targeted in first investment by Kenny Alexander's FS Gaming.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/alexander-led-group-takes-big-stake-in-888-holdings\/\" \/>\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=\"2023-06-07T19:27:49+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-06-07T19:38:23+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/ken.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1189\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"925\" \/>\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=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/alexander-led-group-takes-big-stake-in-888-holdings\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/alexander-led-group-takes-big-stake-in-888-holdings\/\",\"name\":\"Alexander-Led Group Takes Big Stake In 888 Holdings\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/alexander-led-group-takes-big-stake-in-888-holdings\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/alexander-led-group-takes-big-stake-in-888-holdings\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/ken.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-06-07T19:27:49+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-06-07T19:38:23+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/f4cecf70a5032bc4e60eb73fc86d4a85\"},\"description\":\"888 Holdings targeted in first investment by Kenny Alexander's FS Gaming.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/alexander-led-group-takes-big-stake-in-888-holdings\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/alexander-led-group-takes-big-stake-in-888-holdings\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/alexander-led-group-takes-big-stake-in-888-holdings\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/ken.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/ken.jpg\",\"width\":1189,\"height\":925,\"caption\":\"Former GVC CEO Kenny Alexander. He's attempting to land the same job at 888 Holdings. (Image: GVC)\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/alexander-led-group-takes-big-stake-in-888-holdings\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"News\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Financial\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/financial\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Kenny Alexander Led Group Takes Stake in 888 Holdings\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/\",\"name\":\"Casino.org\",\"description\":\"Latest Casino and Gaming News\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/f4cecf70a5032bc4e60eb73fc86d4a85\",\"name\":\"Todd Shriber\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/cropped-11-96x96.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/cropped-11-96x96.png\",\"caption\":\"Todd Shriber\"},\"description\":\"Todd Shriber is a senior news reporter covering gaming financials, casino business, stocks, and mergers and acquisitions for Casino.org. Todd got his start in financial markets as a reporter with Bloomberg News. Later, he became a trader at a Southern California-based long\/short hedge fund, where he specialized in the trading sector and international ETFs leading up to and during the financial crisis. He joined Casino.org in 2019. Currently, Todd analyzes, researches, and writes on ETFs for various web-based publications and financial services firms. Shriber has been featured and quoted in Barron's, CNBC.com, and The Wall Street Journal. His work can also be found on Benzinga, ETF Daily News, ETF Trends, MarketWatch, Fox Business, and Nasdaq.com. He currently resides in Las Vegas, where he enjoys golf and taking his black lab to the dog park. He's also an avid sports fan and likes to wager on college football and the NBA. You can also find him at the three-card poker and roulette table, even though he knows better. Contact Todd at todd.shriber@casino.org.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/muckrack.com\/todd-shriber\",\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/toddshriber\/\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/etfgodfather\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/author\/todd-shriber\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Alexander-Led Group Takes Big Stake In 888 Holdings","description":"888 Holdings targeted in first investment by Kenny Alexander's FS Gaming.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/alexander-led-group-takes-big-stake-in-888-holdings\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Alexander-Led Group Takes Big Stake In 888 Holdings","og_description":"888 Holdings targeted in first investment by Kenny Alexander's FS Gaming.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/alexander-led-group-takes-big-stake-in-888-holdings\/","og_site_name":"Casino.org","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Casino.OrgNews","article_published_time":"2023-06-07T19:27:49+00:00","article_modified_time":"2023-06-07T19:38:23+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1189,"height":925,"url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/ken.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Todd Shriber","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@etfgodfather","twitter_site":"@Casino_Org","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Todd Shriber","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/alexander-led-group-takes-big-stake-in-888-holdings\/","url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/alexander-led-group-takes-big-stake-in-888-holdings\/","name":"Alexander-Led Group Takes Big Stake In 888 Holdings","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/alexander-led-group-takes-big-stake-in-888-holdings\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/alexander-led-group-takes-big-stake-in-888-holdings\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/ken.jpg","datePublished":"2023-06-07T19:27:49+00:00","dateModified":"2023-06-07T19:38:23+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/f4cecf70a5032bc4e60eb73fc86d4a85"},"description":"888 Holdings targeted in first investment by Kenny Alexander's FS Gaming.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/alexander-led-group-takes-big-stake-in-888-holdings\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/alexander-led-group-takes-big-stake-in-888-holdings\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/alexander-led-group-takes-big-stake-in-888-holdings\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/ken.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/ken.jpg","width":1189,"height":925,"caption":"Former GVC CEO Kenny Alexander. He's attempting to land the same job at 888 Holdings. (Image: GVC)"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/alexander-led-group-takes-big-stake-in-888-holdings\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"News","item":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Financial","item":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/financial\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Kenny Alexander Led Group Takes Stake in 888 Holdings"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/","name":"Casino.org","description":"Latest Casino and Gaming News","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/f4cecf70a5032bc4e60eb73fc86d4a85","name":"Todd Shriber","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/cropped-11-96x96.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/cropped-11-96x96.png","caption":"Todd Shriber"},"description":"Todd Shriber is a senior news reporter covering gaming financials, casino business, stocks, and mergers and acquisitions for Casino.org. Todd got his start in financial markets as a reporter with Bloomberg News. Later, he became a trader at a Southern California-based long\/short hedge fund, where he specialized in the trading sector and international ETFs leading up to and during the financial crisis. He joined Casino.org in 2019. Currently, Todd analyzes, researches, and writes on ETFs for various web-based publications and financial services firms. Shriber has been featured and quoted in Barron's, CNBC.com, and The Wall Street Journal. His work can also be found on Benzinga, ETF Daily News, ETF Trends, MarketWatch, Fox Business, and Nasdaq.com. He currently resides in Las Vegas, where he enjoys golf and taking his black lab to the dog park. He's also an avid sports fan and likes to wager on college football and the NBA. You can also find him at the three-card poker and roulette table, even though he knows better. Contact Todd at todd.shriber@casino.org.","sameAs":["https:\/\/muckrack.com\/todd-shriber","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/toddshriber\/","https:\/\/x.com\/etfgodfather"],"url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/author\/todd-shriber\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/276535"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/46"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=276535"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/276535\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":276546,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/276535\/revisions\/276546"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/142011"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=276535"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=276535"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=276535"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}