Originally, the purchase price for the deal was £2.2bn. However, 888 and Caesars agreed to reduce the purchase price to acquire the assets by £250m, with the cash portion of the deal now set at £584.9m instead of £834.9m.
This, it said, was due to a “change in the macro-economic and regulatory environment”, but at the time it also revealed that the William Hill business’ licence to operate in Great Britain was under review.
After receiving shareholder approval last month, the deal has now closed this Friday (1).
“I am delighted to announce the completion of our transformational combination with William Hill. We have built an outstanding leadership team, combining strengths from across both businesses, and as I look at the future, the combination of our product and content leadership, powered by our proprietary technology, and our world class brands, gives us a powerful platform for growth,” 888 chair Itai Pazner said.
888 chair Lord Mendehlson noted that the combined business will be one of the world’s largest online gambling operators. The new group would have recorded revenue of US$2.68bn in 2021, but recorded a net loss of US$368.5m.
“This combination brings together two high quality businesses to create a powerful, global betting and gaming business. We believe the acquisition will create significant value for shareholders, creating a combined business with leading technology, products and brands across sports betting and gaming. With a top quality management team, formed from talent from across both businesses, I am confident about our future plans,” Mendehlson said.
As revealed previously, Pazner will remain chief executive of the business post-merger, while William Hill’s former chief executive Ulrik Bengtsson will leave the business. William Hill chief financial officer Eric Hageman will also be departing.
Similarly, 888’s chief financial officer Yariv Dafa, chief operating officer Guy Cohen and chief strategy officer Vaughan Lewis will also keep their titles.
Source: iGB
