Caesars bets $3.7 bln on William Hill takeover
Caesars Entertainment looks to be placing a big bet.
The U.S. casino operator says it’s in talks to buy UK bookmaker William Hill, in a deal valued at 3.7 billion dollars.
In a joint statement Monday (September 28) the pair said negotiations were at an advanced stage.
The pair already have a joint venture in the U.S., including William Hill outlets in casinos.
Now the new deal would give Caesars full control of that, up from the 20% stake it has now.
But there could be a rival player.
William Hill says it has also received a bid from buyout group Apollo Global Management.
Shares in the UK firm soared Friday (September 25) on reports of that bid.
But then fell right back to previous levels on Monday, suggesting investors are uncertain what price a deal could attract.
Meanwhile, Caesars is getting its stake together.
It’s raising new equity, and will also take out 2 billion dollars in new debt, secured against William Hill’s non-U.S. business.
If successful, Caesars says it expects the enlarged sports and online gaming business in the U.S. to generate up to 700 million dollars in net revenue next year.
