{"id":40970,"date":"2016-10-15T13:00:58","date_gmt":"2016-10-15T20:00:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=40970"},"modified":"2016-10-14T14:43:13","modified_gmt":"2016-10-14T21:43:13","slug":"william-hills-biggest-shareholder-blasts-waste-time-amaya-merger","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/william-hills-biggest-shareholder-blasts-waste-time-amaya-merger\/","title":{"rendered":"William Hill\u2019s Biggest Shareholder Blasts \u201cWaste of Time\u201d Amaya Merger"},"content":{"rendered":"

William Hill\u2019s biggest shareholder, Parvus Asset Management, has made it clear that it will not stomach a proposed merger with Canada\u2019s Amaya Inc, the parent company of PokerStars.<\/p>\n

The hedge fund, which owns a\u00a014.3 per cent stake in the UK bookmaking giant wrote an open letter to William Hill\u2019s board, Thursday, and it did not mince its words.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe board refused to talk to the 888\/Rank Consortium just two months ago,\u201d it said, referring to the \u00a33.4 billion takeover bid proposed by 888 and Rank, which was quickly rebuffed by the board.<\/p>\n

\"Parvus
Ex-William Hill CEO Ralph Topping said he agreed with Parvus\u2019 assessment and that the proposed Amaya deal had left him \u201cscratching his head.\u201d (Image: Bill Murray\/SNS Group)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cYou urgently need to explain why you are applying such blatant double standards,\u201d it continued. \u201cWe strongly encourage that the board stops wasting valuable time and shareholder resources pursing this value-destroying deal. Instead, the board and management must focus on maximizing value for William Hill<\/a> owners, rather than Amaya shareholders, by considering all alternative options available, including a sale of William Hill.”<\/p>\n

Shareholder Concerns <\/b><\/h2>\n

On Friday, while the William Hill board was in crisis talks, the company\u2019s former CEO, Ralph Topping, added his two cents. He told the Financial Times that he was fully supportive of Parvus and that the initial announcement of the deal had left him \u201cscratching his head.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cBoth [Amaya and William Hill] have a lot to sort out in their own business. I\u2019m very anxious on the future of William Hill,\u201d he said.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Parvus is concerned that the cross-border deal is too complex and lacks industrial logic. There is also concern that Amaya\u2019s former CEO and major shareholder, David Baazov<\/a>, is facing five counts of securities fraud in Montreal.<\/p>\n

The Canadian firm is also facing a potential $870 million fine from a judge in Kentucky in conjunction to PokerStars\u2019 operations there prior to Black Friday.<\/p>\n

Amaya Responds<\/b><\/h2>\n

Amaya responded to the Parvus\u2019 missive on Friday, complaining that it \u201ccontains inaccuracies that can be dispelled through reading Amaya\u2019s public filings, which will attest to the high quality, consistent profitability and stable growth prospects of our business.\u201d<\/p>\n

“Given the strategic fit, diversification and potential synergies we have a responsibility to all our shareholders to fully assess this. However, it is premature for us to draw conclusions whilst this work is ongoing,\u201d said William Hill in an official statement, Friday. “The board would not come forward with a transaction unless it was satisfied that it was in the interests of all shareholders.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

William Hill\u2019s biggest shareholder, Parvus Asset Management, has made it clear that it will not stomach a proposed merger with Canada\u2019s Amaya Inc, the parent company of PokerStars. The hedge fund, which owns a\u00a014.3 per cent stake in the UK bookmaking giant wrote an open letter to William Hill\u2019s board, Thursday, and it did not […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":42,"featured_media":40971,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[62,10,19],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nWilliam Hill\u2019s Biggest Shareholder Blasts \u201cWaste of Time\u201d Amaya Merger<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"William Hill\u2019s majority owner Parvus Asset Management has rejected Amaya merger proposal.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"William Hill\u2019s Biggest Shareholder Blasts \u201cWaste of Time\u201d Amaya Merger\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"William 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