888 Holdings has won the contest to buy William Hill’s European operations by outgunning private equity rivals with a bid estimated at more than £2bn, according to a report.
The bidding was down to a three-horse race between 888, Apollo Global Management and CVC Capital Partners. CVC was knocked out at the weekend and 888 has won out against Apollo, The Times reported.
Final bids were pitched at more than £1.7bn, outstripping peak expectations of a £1.5bn sale at the start of the process, The Times said.
After the report was published on Tuesday, 888 published a statement to say it was in advanced talks with Caesars to buy William Hill’s non-US business. Its shares rose 1,6% to 413p at 11:55 BST.
“There can be no certainty that these advanced discussions will result in a transaction,” 888 said. “A further announcement will be made as and when appropriate.”
Caesars Entertainment bought William Hill for £2.8bn but the US group only wanted the company’s US operations. The assets up for sale were William Hill’s 1,400 betting shops and its UK and European online operations. A question hangs over the fate of the betting shops with Betfred in the running for the assets, the paper said.
