888 Holdings PLC (LSE:888) said it hopes to complete the takeover of William Hill’s non-US assets by the end of next March.
In an investor update this morning, the FTSE 250-listed company confirmed that it had reached a key milestone in the attempted acquisition, with all mandatory antitrust and gaming regulatory clearances received.
Itai Pazner, chief executive of 888, said: “Given the strong progress we have made, we now expect the transaction to complete in the first quarter of 2022.”
Pazner said a director of integration has been appointed internally, who will work alongside senior counterparts from William Hill.
The deal struck in September with Caesars Entertainment to take control of William Hill’s non-US assets valued them in the region of £2.2bn and would therefore double the size of £1.2bn-valued 888.
With over 1,400 betting shops and a digital presence in Spain, Italy and the Nordics, William Hill made revenues last year of £1.16bn, £803mln of which were online, generating group underlying earnings (EBITDA) of £157mln, compared to 888's sales of $814mln and EBITDA of US$156mln.