888 Aquires William Hill

The rumour mill is wide open – did 888 Holding acquire William Hill? Read how the UK’s largest gambling firm could change hands once again! (Photo by Alex Motoc on Unsplash)

According to a report coming from The Times newspaper, 888 Holdings have won the right to take over William Hill’s European operations. The Times is usually a reliable source, and so the rumour or the Time newspaper’s confirmation is likely correct. However, all parties involved are yet to make any comment to confirm 888 Holdings is the new owner of Will Hill’s European-based outlet, which consists of 100s of high street betting shops, racecourse betting stands, and a UKGC licenced online casino and betting platform.

UPDATED 9-September-2021: 888 Holding has now confirmed its William Hill bid. In a statement via the 888 Holding’s media centre, the company is in talks with Caesars Entertainment over the purchase of William Hill Europe for a value of f £2.2 billion.

Reportedly, 888 won the auction put on by the new owners of the William Hill brand, Caesars Entertainment. The bid was over £2bn, a figure presumably set so high in order to fend off interest from Apollo Global Management, another company that also sees the addition of William Hill’s European enterprise as a profitable acquisition. If the rumours on the grapevine are accurate, which we are pretty sure they are considering the hype surrounding the buyout bid, this will see 888 take over William Hill operations in Europe within the next few weeks, although it is not likely it will be an immediate takeover as we presume there will be a lengthy transitional period considering the size of William Hill’s operations.

Caesars Entertainment decided to sell William Hill’s European arm shortly after acquiring the entirety of the William Hill brand for £2.9bn earlier this year. The deal to merge Ceasars with William Hill is one of the largest in history for the gaming industry, but as the business end of the deal transpired, it became clear Caesars Entertainment’s plans for the British-born gambling brand are US-focused only. As soon as Ceasar’s intentions were public knowledge, news of a potential sale stoked a smouldering fire that has now reignited with billions-sterling bids cracking from the flames. At that time, any deal was initially thought to be worth around £1.5bn. For 888, the £2bn bid is 25% higher, but with interest from the German gaming company, Tipico, joining the likes of Apollo Global Management and Betfred in the auction, the race soon heated and 888 obviously thought an exorbitant amount would seal the deal, which it appears to be the case.

In the end, it was a three-horse after the withdrawal of Advent International but with Apollo being regarded as the favourite and CVC, who was working with Tipico in the deal, previously owning William Hill; industry big wigs didn’t think 888 had a realistic chance. Oh, how things can change in the fast-moving world of gambling acquisitions! The fate of William Hill’s betting outlets is still unknown, although 888 has always suggested in the past it could keep the retail shops should its bid for the UK gambling giant be successful.

Caesars UK Casinos: In recent news, we reported that Caesars Entertainment sold off its EMEA division, which under this management arm were 7 UK casinos. This was yet another indication of Ceasars new structuring/streamlining of its business operations which currently appear to be focused on the US market.

William Hill is Conquering the US With 1st Ever Sportsbook at Pro Sports Arena in Washington

For those in the UK not happy that one of the UK’s most revered gambling brands was sold overseas, news of it coming back to 888 Holdings will welcome. And that UK brand name is also conquering the US market, so the name lives on despite its US ownership. Ceasars may be selling off the brand’s assets across the pond, but on the other side, it’s building up the William Hill empire. Washingtons, Capital One Arena is the home of the NHL’s Capitals and the NBA’s Washington Wizards, but now it also becomes the home to the 1st ever full service betting outlet within a pro sports arena in the United States, and guess which brand name got there first? Now during any Washington Wizards game at the Capital One Arena, William Hill will be available for sportsbook betting needs.

More Shrewd Moves in William Hill After the Brand Recently Appointed a New CFO

Also, in recent William Hill news reports, we saw the appointment of a new CFO. Leading gaming and betting companies have announced the appointment of a new Chief Financial Officer, Eric Hageman, which comes into effect from 7th June 2021. This will include a position on the board for William Hill Ceasars Management once it is handed over from Matt Ashley’s reign. Eric Hageman has held Group CFO positions previously with the leading Dutch communications group, Royal KPN NV, TeleCity Group PLC in the UK and, most recently, IWG PLC, a Switzerland-based worldwide workplace operator. Former CFO of IWG PLC, Eric Hageman, to join William Hill as CFO.

Following the successful sale of William Hill Group to Caesars Entertainment, Matt Ashley decided to leave and take up the role of CFO for Micro Focus PLC, so Eric Hageman takes over from Matt Ashley, and ironically enough, he was the perfect man to oversee and broker the auction of the European William Hill assets which look as if they will once again be back with a British firm in the form of 888 Holdings.

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