With the Successful acquisition of William Hill in March 2021, Caesars Entertainment has begun the bidding war for William Hill’s UK and European Assets.
Sell-Off of UK and European Assets
William Hill owned around 1,400 betting shops in the UK and Ireland alongside European online divisions which could coin in a huge $1.5 billion for Caesars. Caesars recently reported they intended to sell off non-US assets after the £2.9 billion deal was agreed.Apollo Global Management were initial front runners alongside Caesars for the entire takeover of William Hill, they are now one of two contenders in the bidding war for the assets.
Two Front Runners
If successful, it’s thought Apollo will combine the British Bookmaker with its Italian company Gamenet to further enhance its sports betting operations.Alongside Apollo are the Israeli Shaked family a major shareholder behind 888 Holdings.888 had shown interest in William Hill in the past and the CEO for 888 Itai Pazner said “it is something we were looking at, and I won’t change my comment on that.”Early on in the initial takeover stages, Betfred owner Fred Done had shown interest in integrating William Hill’s betting shops with his own business. If this were to happen Fred Done would own 44% of the UK’s retail betting market.However, with strong competition, it’s looking likely Apollo is in a prime position to take over the assets after William Hill granted access to the companies books.This comes at a time when the UK Government is currently reviewing the 2005 Gambling Act and the outcome will likely affect the value of William Hill’s assets. The bidding is likely to come to an end during summer 2021.