888 To Purchase William Hill and Expands Overseas

Popular online casino and sportsbook operator 888 Holdings, also known as 888 Casino started the process of purchasing the non-American assets of online gambling competitor William Hill. A prominent name in Britain, William Hill was previously owned by Caesars Entertainment, stating that changes in regulatory and economic conditions were the catalyst for the deal. The shareholders for 888 Holdings voted in an overwhelming majority to approve the deal for $762.1 million or £585 million. In April 2021, Caesars Entertainment had purchased William Hill for approximately $4 billion. With just a year passed since the deal, Caesars is already moving part of their assets to another competitor in the online gambling space.

A report came out stating that 99.3% of entities of the 888 Holdings shareholders voted yes to the proposal to move forward with the transaction. Members that are closer to the deal project that if the proposal goes through with Caesars Entertainment and 888 Holdings, it should be completed by some time at the end of the month. Once the deal is approved by the Financial Conduct Authority, 888 said that this transaction will begin to trade its shares.

Jonathan Mendelsohn, the Non-Executive Chairman for 888 Holdings thanked shareholders of the company in an official filing for their continued support for the proposal of the acquisition of William Hill. He then stated that the combination of 888 and William Hill would have generated an annual earnings aggregate of around $437 million off of $2.1 billion in total revenue if the deal had been agreed to before 2021. This number, of course, before including factors such as interest, depreciation, taxes, and amortization.  Mendelsohn and the rest of the 888 Holdings company are looking forward to finalizing the acquisition to transform the company at the end of June to expand globally and to create a gaming and online betting leader through the merger of two very similar business types and two of the top names in the gambling industry.

In relation to William Hill news, the company has launched a flagship online casino and sportsbook site in Latvia. This launch will partner with local site domain 11.lv which William Hill called a top 3 player in the Baltic Nation’s iGaming market when it acquired them in 2019. In addition to that claim, they also provide financial support for the football competition the Latvia Cup through Responsible Gambling. 

11.lv will now be rebranded under the William Hill name despite the purchase from 888 Holdings. William Hill will be combining their already existing partnership within media and their creatives with heavy ties in responsible gambling to increase William Hill's popularity in Latvia. This is done strategically so as to get ahead of the upcoming main sporting events including the International Ice Hockey Federation World Championship for 2022. The International Managing Director for William Hill, Nir Hakarmeli, is very happy with the work that he and his team have done in order to take 11. lv and make it one of the top brands in the continually growing Latvia online gambling market. This puts William Hill in a great position to take the next step across their borders and introduce one of the strongest names in the European gambling industry to the people of Latvia. This in turn will strengthen 888 Holdings with the deal as well.