Caesars Entertainment in William Hill Takeover Bid

Caesars Entertainment Incorporated, one of the biggest companies on the United States gambling market, has made a cash offer to take over British bookmaker, William Hill.

The offer is worth 2.9 billion pounds, which converts roughly into around 5.2 billion Australian dollars. Hill has confirmed the offer, and now the decision is in the hands of their shareholders.

However, the bookmaker’s board of directors has indicated that they would advise the shareholders to accept the offer. The deal won’t go through until the antitrust and regulatory gaming approvals are cleared, and that would most likely happen in 2021.

William Hill is one of the oldest companies in the industry; it was founded in 1934 and back then it offered betting services through mail. In 1998, it made the move to online, offering its already renowned sportsbook services along with casino games.

It is licensed in several major jurisdictions and its online casino offers content from all the big software providers.

On the other hand, Caesars Entertainment is an American company that operates several land-based casinos and golf courses. It also has great tradition as it was founded all the way back in 1934 in Reno, Nevada.

In 2013, it was the fourth-largest gaming company in the entire world, with annual revenues of over 8.5 billion dollars. In 2020, the company was acquired by Eldorado Resorts in a deal worth over 17 billion dollars.

Tom Reeg, chief executive at Caesars Entertainment, said: “The opportunity to combine our land-based casinos, sports betting and online gaming in the US is a truly exciting prospect. William Hill’s sports betting expertise will complement Caesars’ current offering, enabling the combined group to better serve our customers in the fast-growing US sports betting and online market. We look forward to working with William Hill to support future growth in the US by providing our customers with a superior and comprehensive experience across all areas of gaming, sports betting and entertainment.”

Eldorado Resorts already owned 20 percent of Hill’s shares, following a deal that was made between the two parties back in 2018. That agreement made William Hill an exclusive sports betting partner for Eldorado Resorts, in exchange for the 20% stake in the company.

Source: “Apollo Global and Caesars bid for William Hill“. iGaming Business. September 25, 2020.