Caesars completes £2.9bn William Hill takeover

Caesars Entertainment has completed its £2.9bn takeover of UK bookmaker William Hill.

The deal, which has been in the works since November 2020, finally completed on 22 April after a three-week delay in approval following a scheme court hearing.

As part of the takeover arrangement, dealing in Hills shares has ceased and its stock has been removed from the London Stock Exchange’s CREST dealing system.

The entire share capital of William Hill, other than shares that were already owned by Caesars, are now owned by Caesars UK Bidco, the operating segment behind the Caesars acquisition offer.

William Hill chairman Roger Devlin and five other directors of the UK bookmaker today tendered their resignations from the board.

https://twitter.com/UlrikBengtsson/status/1385132561266061312

Existing William Hill shareholders will receive their share pay-outs no later than 6 May.

Caesars has made no secret of its plan to sell-off William Hill’s non-US business, which includes the UK and international online divisions, the Mr Green brand and retail betting shops.

“The transaction expands the reach of Caesars Rewards by providing William Hill customers with access to the company´s industry-leading loyalty program, including the ability to earn tier status that can be used at all of the company´s land-based and online properties,” Caesars said in a statement.

“This combination also enables the company to further enhance its services to customers by providing a single-wallet offering of sports betting and online gaming products across the enterprise in the future.”

Caesars CEO Tom Reeg added: “We are thrilled to complete the acquisition of William Hill, combining two of the premier operations in the sports betting and igaming industries under one roof.

“We look forward to announcing future sports partnerships that will drive long-term growth,” he added.