Online gambling company 888 Holdings has revealed that it is in advanced negotiations with Caesars Entertainment following a winning auction bid of £2.3 billion for William Hill’s UK assets.
Caesars Entertainment completed the acquisition of William Hill earlier this year before immediately announcing that it would auction off the company’s UK-based assets. 888 Holdings won the auction and has since entered into negotiations to finalize the deal.
888 beat rivals Betfred, Apollo Global Management, and Tipico in the auction, but the takeover is not yet a done deal.
888 Holdings’ shares had surged in value during the global pandemic following a huge increase in online betting activity throughout lockdowns across the globe. Following the announcement yesterday that the company was in advanced talks to close the takeover deal, shares rose once again by about 2%.
If the deal goes through, 888 Holdings will take control of 1,414 licensed betting offices (LBOs) and William Hill’s online businesses based in the UK and Europe. Currently William Hill UK holds a 21% retail market share by number of LBOs in the UK behind Betfred (23%) and Entain (41%).
Olivia has worked as an editor and writer for major brands across multiple niches. She now focuses on the iGaming and sports betting industries.