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The ongoing bidding war for William Hill’s UK and European betting outlets are coming to the final stages as the major contenders put forward their final bids.In April 2021, Caesars Entertainment acquired William Hill for £2.9 billion. Previously the two companies had formed a US sports betting partnership to capitilise on the rapid growth of the US sports betting market.
Sell Off Retail Outlets
At the time of the acquisition, Caesars made it clear they were only interested in the US sports betting arm of the company and would look to sell off the UK and International arm of the business including 1,400 UK betting outlets.It was predicted the final sum the new purchaser would need to bid would be between £1.2 to £1.5 billion. However, the Times newspaper reported rumours to suggest a more realistic fee of around the £2 billion mark.
Three Potential Buyers
According to recent reports, there are now three potential front runners including Apollo Global Management, Tipico, and 888 Holdings. Apollo is looking favourable with Germany’s largest gambling operator Tipico, majority-owned by CVC next in line.Interestingly, CVC previously bought William Hill in 1999 for £825 million but sold the company after four years after successfully floating the company on the London stock market.As for 888 Holdings, if they win the bidding war, they have made it clear they would only be interested in William Hill’s digital arm. Analysts believe if this were to happen, the UK betting giant Betfred may step in to buy the UK retail outlets.Although a clear date of completion has yet to be announced by Caesars, none of the three contenders have commented on the bidding war.