William Hill’s Extraordinary General Meeting
Tuesday March 19,2013 : WILLIAM HILL REPORTS FAVOURABLE EGM
Strong support from shareholders on acquisition of Playtech stake in WHO
William Hill's Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) held earlier today (Monday) saw its shareholders overwhelmingly vote in favour of two resolutions namely; the acquisition of Genuity Services Limited's (Playtech) 29 percent stake in William Hill Online (WHO) and the William Hill Online Long Term Incentive Plan 2008.
In total, 524,489,385 shares were voted in favour of the Proposed Acquisition resolution, representing 100.00 percent of the votes cast, while 520,535,797 shares were voted in favour of the Long Term Incentive Plan resolution, representing 98.93 percent of the votes cast.
Ralph Topping, Chief Executive of William Hill, commented:
"We are pleased to have received such clear shareholder support for this transaction. Taking full ownership of William Hill Online is an important strategic step for William Hill as we continue to develop our online business, which plays a key part in our growth strategy."
The Group intends to raise approximately GBP 375 million (net of expenses) through a 2 for 9 Rights Issue of 156,871,900 New Ordinary Shares at a price of 245 pence per share which, together with approximately GBP 50 million from the 2012 Bridge Credit Facility, will be used to finance the acquisition whilst maintaining an appropriate capital structure for the Group.
