William Hill targeted for takeover by Caesars and Apollo Global
US casino heavyweight and UK private equity firm submit rival bids with discussions ongoing since August
William Hill is ripe for corporate takeover after having received separate cash proposals from US casino partner Caesars Entertainment and UK asset management firm Apollo Global.
Hills received a written proposal from Apollo on 27 August, before a separate takeover proposal was submitted by Caesars, although details of both bids remain undisclosed.
“Discussions between William Hill and the respective parties are ongoing,” the London-listed operator confirmed in a statement.
“There can be no certainty that any offer for William Hill will be made, nor as to the terms on which any offer might be made,” Hills added.
EGR has contacted Apollo for further information on the takeover bid. Apollo Global manages more than $40bn in assets spread over the real estate, financial and infrastructure sectors.
Speaking to EGR, RB Capital co-founder Julian Buhagiar described Apollo’s move as a “textbook takeover” for a private equity firm, which could also look for igaming acquisitions beyond Hills.
Buhagiar suggested Apollo could then look to consolidate the merged entities by selling off non-core assets while merging other parts of a newly combined group.
Apollo has history with rival bidder Caesars, having acquired the casino giant’s Harrah’s subsidiary for $27.8bn back in 2006 alongside fellow asset management firm TPG Capital.
Harrah’s rebranded as Caesars and TPG and Apollo ended their 11-year business relationship with the firm by selling their remaining 5.7% stake in March 2019 for $323m.
Apollo Global Management senior partner David Sambur left the Caesars board one month later.
The news concerning talks has already prompted much speculation on Twitter.
First IAC investing $1bn in MGM
Now Apollo approaching William Hill's $3bn MCAPThings going on in both Gaming and iGaming space.
Smart money and big pockets flowing in.
Sector bullish.— dividendblower (@dividendblower) September 25, 2020
Caesars has been in partnership with William Hill in the US since July 2020 following its merger with Eldorado Resorts. Rumours of a potential merger have been building for the last two months.
Earlier in September, Hills signed a co-exclusive multi-year digital media deal via Caesars with sports broadcasting giant ESPN.
Hills share price rose by 37% following confirmation of the takeover bids and is currently trading at 298.70p.
Hills share price rocketed following news of the deal
Picture Credit: London Stock Exchange