Over the last few weeks, we’ve had several stories reporting an attempted merger with William Hill. The companies that were attempting to merge with William Hill were 888 and the Rank Group, and it has just been announced that the pair has abandoned their plans, so it looks like this will be our last story on the matter.
Rank Group and 888 announce plans in July
The Rank Group and 888 originally announced their plans for a merger with William Hill back in July 2016. This mega-merger would likely see the two companies paying more than £3 billion for the pleasure of merging all three companies. This move would also have created the largest gambling operator in the United Kingdom, especially when you look at the profits and revenue which could have been generated by the merged company. It would have also been one of the largest gambling companies in the entire world, a prospect that no doubt, excited the Rank Group and 888.
The Rank Group and 888 have made two offers for William Hill, both of which were rejected. The first offer that was made valued William Hill at 339 pence per share, which was then increased to 352 pence per share when the first offer was rejected. The Rank Group and 888 hoped the larger offer would be enough to sweeten the deal, but this was denied as well, with William Hill saying that they’d substantially undervalued the value of the firm once again.
Rank Group and 888 decide to walk away
After the second offer was rejected by William Hill, the Rank Group and 888 have unfortunately decided to abandon their plans for the merger. The pair issued a joint statement saying that their offers failed to engage meaningfully with the William Hill board. The CEO of 888 also said he is sad and disappointed that William Hill did not share their vision for a combined company, and all the things that would have come with that.
