{"id":298013,"date":"2023-11-09T09:57:22","date_gmt":"2023-11-09T15:57:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=298013"},"modified":"2023-11-09T10:24:17","modified_gmt":"2023-11-09T16:24:17","slug":"draftkings-said-to-have-mulled-buy-of-william-hill-owner-888","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/draftkings-said-to-have-mulled-buy-of-william-hill-owner-888\/","title":{"rendered":"DraftKings Reportedly Approached 888 Investors About Takeover"},"content":{"rendered":"

DraftKings (NASDAQ: DKNG) reportedly held takeover talks with major investors of William Hill owner 888 Holdings Plc (OTC: EIHDF) over the summer.<\/p>\n

\"Caesars
A William Hill betting shop in the UK. DraftKings reportedly considered acquiring William Hill owner 888 Holdings. (Image: Sky News<\/em>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Citing unidentified sources familiar with the matter, The Financial Times<\/em> reported the news earlier Thursday. Boston-based DraftKings is said to have mulled an all-stock acquisition of 888, which has long been rumored to be a takeover target.<\/a><\/p>\n

In September 2021, the company announced its purchase of William Hill\u2019s international business from Caesars Entertainment (NASDAQ: CZR), a move that likely enhanced its allure to prospective buyers owing to the iconic status of the William Hill brand in the sports wagering industry.<\/p>\n

\n

A spokesperson for Boston-based DraftKings didn\u2019t confirm the 888 negotiations, but told The Financial Times<\/em> the operator speaks to a variety of companies during \u201cthe normal course of business,\u201d and that it\u2019s \u201cfocused on the massive U.S. opportunity\u201d going forward.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

By market share, DraftKings is the second-largest online sportsbook operator in the U.S., but aided by growth in iGaming — fostered by the acquisition of Golden Nugget Online Gaming (GNOG) — its monthly revenue<\/a> in August topped that of rival FanDuel for the first time.<\/p>\n

Interesting Timing for DraftKings Talks with 888 Investors<\/h2>\n

The Financial Times<\/em> reported that DraftKings held preliminary talks with 888 in June and July. That was around the time that FS Gaming Investments, an investment group led by former GVC CEO Kenny Alexander, revealed it took a 6.57% stake in 888.<\/p>\n

\n

In fact, FS Gaming was one of the 888 shareholders with which DraftKings was said to have discussed a takeover of the William Hill owner. Adding to the intrigue is that the suitor reportedly walked away from talks after the Great Britain Gaming Commission (GBGC) announced William Hill\u2019s license was under review because of the supposedly questionable fashion in which GVC, under Alexander\u2019s leadership, divested a Turkish business<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Prior to that, FS Gaming presented a plan<\/a> to the gaming company\u2019s board under which Alexander would become chief executive officer. FS also told the board it wanted to install Stephen Morana as finance director, and to replace 888 Executive Chairman Jonathan Mendelsohn with former GVC Chairman Lee Feldman. 888\u2019s board held talks with FS, but those discussions were halted amid the regulatory scrutiny.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s unclear if Alexander would have orchestrated a sale of 888 to DraftKings had he been installed as chief executive officer. GVC is now Entain Plc (OTC: GMVHY).<\/p>\n

Speaking of Entain\u2026<\/h2>\n

888 isn\u2019t the first European gaming company DraftKings has had flirtations with. In September 2021, the sportsbook operator made a $20 billion offer for Entain that was rejected. But the suitor returned with a $22.4 billion cash and stock proposal<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The negotiations ultimately fell apart, and at that time, there was speculation that DraftKings was simply aiming to run up the price of Entain for other companies that may have been interested in courting the Ladbrokes owner.<\/strong><\/p>\n

As for DraftKings and 888, one of the latter\u2019s top 10 shareholders told The Financial Times<\/em> they would have viewed an offer from DraftKings as credible, and would have, at the very least, listened to the pitch.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

DraftKings (NASDAQ: DKNG) reportedly held takeover talks with major investors of William Hill owner 888 Holdings Plc (OTC: EIHDF) over the summer. Citing unidentified sources familiar with the matter, The Financial Times reported the news earlier Thursday. Boston-based DraftKings is said to have mulled an all-stock acquisition of 888, which has long been rumored to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":46,"featured_media":219619,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10,32093,1],"tags":[81903,81966,81967],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nDraftKings Said To Have Mulled Buy Of William Hill Owner 888<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"DraftKings reportedly discussed 888 acquisition with investors in William Hill parent.\" \/>\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\/draftkings-said-to-have-mulled-buy-of-william-hill-owner-888\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"DraftKings Said To Have Mulled Buy Of William Hill Owner 888\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"DraftKings reportedly discussed 888 acquisition with investors in William Hill parent.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/draftkings-said-to-have-mulled-buy-of-william-hill-owner-888\/\" \/>\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=\"2023-11-09T15:57:22+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-11-09T16:24:17+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=\"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\/draftkings-said-to-have-mulled-buy-of-william-hill-owner-888\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/draftkings-said-to-have-mulled-buy-of-william-hill-owner-888\/\",\"name\":\"DraftKings Said To Have Mulled Buy Of William Hill Owner 888\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/draftkings-said-to-have-mulled-buy-of-william-hill-owner-888\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/draftkings-said-to-have-mulled-buy-of-william-hill-owner-888\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/WH.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-11-09T15:57:22+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-11-09T16:24:17+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/f4cecf70a5032bc4e60eb73fc86d4a85\"},\"description\":\"DraftKings reportedly discussed 888 acquisition with investors in William Hill parent.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/draftkings-said-to-have-mulled-buy-of-william-hill-owner-888\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/draftkings-said-to-have-mulled-buy-of-william-hill-owner-888\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/draftkings-said-to-have-mulled-buy-of-william-hill-owner-888\/#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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