William Hill owner 888 Holdings PLC (LSE:888) has said that a regulatory review into its gambling licence will not result in any penalties or further action.
Carried out by the GB Gambling Commission, the review had looked to address whether 888 should have sought approval over a leadership change last July.
This had seen former Entain PLC (LSE:ENT) executives, Kenny Alexander, Lee Feldman, and Stephen Morana, buy a 6.57% stake in 888 through investment vehicle FS Gaming.
Plans were then revealed for the trio to take charge of 888 through the roles of chief executive, chair and chief financial officer, which would likely have taken their holding to over 10%.
Such a change in corporate control would have required regulatory approval, with any failure to comply risking 888’s gambling licence.
“The GB Gambling Commission has concluded the licence review without imposing any licence conditions, financial penalties or other remedies on the group,” 888 said on Friday.
This was “after being satisfied that the risk to the licensing objectives under the Gambling Act that led to the review have been appropriately managed and adequately mitigated”.
Shares in 888 soared 5.9% to 91.53p on the news.