As reported in The Sunday Telegraph last weekend, there are two potential buyers battling it out to purchase William Hill’s non-US holdings.
Caesars/William Hill Takeover
William Hill who have been trading in the industry for 86 years are currently being taken over by Caesars with the takeover expected to be complete by H2 2021. The takeover will deem the international arm of the William Hill’s business surplus to requirement.CVC Capital Partners former owner of Sky Betting and private firm Apax partners, a company focusing on long term investments in growth companies could become potential buyers for William Hill’s International Assets with separate £1.5b bids.Apollo Global were unsuccessful in a bid to purchase the whole of William Hill business in September. They have since been reported to return with a new bid, backing William Hill’s current management team including Roger Devlin, chairman and CFO Matt Ashley.
US Market Focus
Caesars, who own a 20% stake in William Hill US, plan to sell all non-US assets in order to focus solely on US markets. It was also reported Caesars are to sell off its own non-US assets including 7 of the UK’s land-based casinos and also casinos in Egypt and South Africa.Other contenders rumoured to have shown interest in William Hill’s International business are Betfred and 888. CEO for 888 Itai Pazner said the assets “definitely fall within the scope” of their M&A strategy.However, Betfred owner Fred Done has since confirmed they would not be putting in a bid to buy out William Hill’s assets.