william-hill-in-gambling-takeover-spat-with-rank-and-888

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William Hill in betting takeover spat with Rank and 888
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Bookmaker William Hill has once again securely rebuffed 888 and Rank Group, after the latter repeated the case for their unsolicited ₤ 3.16 bn deal.
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After Rank and 888's bet9ja's welcome offer was turned down, external on Tuesday, the duo re-stated their offer, externalfor William Hill the next day.

They said their proposition was "a compelling worth creation chance for William Hill and its investors".

But William Hill states there is no benefit in appealing, external on the basis of a proposition that "substantially underestimates" it.

Gareth Davis, chairman of William Hill, included: "In addition, as we have actually stated before, this promotion code proposal is highly opportunistic, complex and presents significant risk for our investors."

'Highly complicated'
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Casino and bingo hall operator Rank and online gaming group 888 had said on Wednesday that the proposed new combination would produce the UK's biggest multi-channel gambling operator by profits and revenue.

They also said it would result in cost savings of ₤ 100m a year.
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Any deal would produce the yohaig code UK's third-largest online wagering group with incomes of ₤ 2.7 bn.

But in its newest rebuff, William Hill said the proposal involved "a highly complicated three-way mix at an extremely low premium".
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In addition, it said there was "substantial risk for William Hill shareholders in the achievement of the yohaig code estimated future expense synergies, which are only expected to be attained completely by the end of 2020".

And it said it would leave the combined group running with "substantially increased utilize of roughly ₤ 2.2 bn, carrying a much greater interest charge".

On Thursday William Hill shares were up 2.3% at 332 cent. Shares in Rank were up 0.1% at 207.90 cent, and shares in 888 were down 2.07% at 212.50 pence.

The bet9ja's welcome offer would mean 888 taking control of Rank, with the newly formed company then purchasing William Hill.
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The bet9ja's welcome offer of 364p a share to William Hill shareholders is made up of 199p in money and 0.725% per share in the brand-new company, BidCo.

Rank and 888 argue that its service strategy would increase the brand-new company's worth to as much as 408p a share - or ₤ 3.6 bn.
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Other mergers in the industry have include Ladbrokes and Coral signing a ₤ 2.3 bn merger in July and Paddy Power and Betfair joining forces in September.

Earlier this month William Hill reported a 1% increase in revenues in the very first half of the year, stating that strong need throughout the Euros football competition had offset poor online sales and what it called "the worst Cheltenham leads to current history".
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