888 3.6 Billion bid for William Hill

RANK / 888 CONSORTIUM BID GBP 3.6 BILLION FOR WILL HILL (Update)

Formal offer submitted following industry speculation.

Initial media reports suggest Rank Group and 888 Holdings have partnered to formally submit a GBP 3.6 Billion bid for William Hill following a week of speculation and a rather lukewarm response from William Hill on the prospects of a bid at the time.

According to the Financial Times, the Rank/888 consortium has offered 364p a share “as well as setting out merger synergies that boost the value of the proposal to 408p a share, according to the [unidentified] people briefed on the plans”.

The consortium anticipates the creation of larger scale will offset increased tax burdens and allow them to remain competitive against other consolidation in the sector such as the recent Paddy Power Betfair tie-up.

Rank Group, 888 and William Hill have declined to comment at this stage.