The $4.7 billion offer to William Hill represents a share price of 364p ($4.77). Traded on the London Stock Exchange, shares of William Hill closed at $4.31 on Thursday.<\/p>\n
“888 and Rank believe the proposal represents a compelling value creation opportunity for William Hill and its shareholders and would welcome the opportunity to engage with the board of William Hill on a constructive basis with the goal of consummating a recommended transaction,” the offer sheet states.<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\nShould William Hill accept the terms, which doesn’t seem particularly likely at this juncture, 888 would assume Rank and then place William Hill under its newly formed parent organization.<\/p>\n
Show Us the Money<\/h2>\n
Though 888 and Rank’s proposal represents a nearly 11 percent premium on current shares, William Hill says a winning bid would take a substantially higher valuation. According to analysts with knowledge of the situation, William Hill would need a minimum 400p offer to seriously consider the union.<\/p>\n
Mergers and acquisitions in the gambling universe have been the name of the game in recent years, of course.<\/p>\n
Ladbrokes and Gala Coral announced they were aligning last July in a $3.14 billion deal. Paddy Power and Betfair agreed to join forces in September of 2015 in a massive $7.6 billion consolidation.<\/p>\n
The GVC and bwin deal finalized at $1.6 billion. And of course, no one forgets Amaya’s 2014 acquisition of PokerStars and Full Tilt for $4.9 billion.<\/p>\n
But for now, it appears William Hill won’t join the roster of acquired gaming companies. Although that could change, as 888 and Rank are expected to increase their submission.<\/p>\n
“The price is something that we can always discuss,” 888 CEO Itai Frieberger told The Daily Telegraph\u00a0<\/em>this week. Translation: it ain’t over till the fat banker sings.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"For bookmaker William Hill, the takeover offer by 888 Holdings and Rank Group presented earlier this week has once again been rejected by the UK operator. As reported earlier this week, William Hill executives believe the \u00a33.6 billion ($4.7 billion) joint bid by Rank and 888 severely undervalues the company. Following an emergency board meeting […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":42,"featured_media":38323,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[62,10],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
William Hill Takeover Talks Get Heated as Parties Argue Valuation<\/title>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n