Caesars Entertainment has come out on top against the private equity company, Apollo, and sealed a deal to acquire William Hill for $3.7 billion.
While the two giant companies went through a bidding war, Caesars came forward and announced that it would be reluctant to work with William Hill in the future if they chose to take Apollo’s deal.
This seemed to put things in the world-renowned casino’s favor, and William Hill soon accepted the deal.
“The William Hill directors, who have been so advised by Barclays, Citigroup and PJT Partners as to the financial terms of the acquisition, consider the terms of the acquisition to be fair and reasonable,” William Hill said in a statement following the deal.
The chairman of William Hill, Roger Devlin, had the following to say.
“The William Hill board believes this is the best option for William Hill at an attractive price for shareholders.‘
‘It recognizes the significant progress the William Hill Group has made over the last 18 months, as well as the risk and significant investment required to maximize the US opportunity given intense competition in the US and the potential for regulatory disruption in the UK and Europe.”
Caesars Entertainment is a world-renowned franchise. The company operates multiple luxurious casinos and hotels across the United States, as well as hosting some of the most popular online casinos.
William Hill is a sportsbook from the U.K and operates in different countries in the EU, as well as in the United States.
“The opportunity to combine our land based-casinos, sports betting and online gaming in the US is a truly exciting prospect,” said Tom Reeg, CEO of Caesars Entertainment.
He continued his statement by saying:
“William Hill’s sports betting expertise will complement Caesars’ current offering, enabling the combined group to better serve our customers in the fast-growing US sports betting and online market.
“We look forward to working with William Hill to support future growth in the US by providing our customers with a superior and comprehensive experience across all areas of gaming, sports betting, and entertainment.“
The Future of Caesars Entertainment
Caesars plans to expand its brand by utilizing the sportsbook sites previously under William Hill. This will happen not just in America, but over in the EU as well.
In another statement, Caesars Entertainment commented:
“In order to best maximize those propositions and support those businesses’ long-term ambitions following completion of the acquisition of William Hill, Caesars’ intention is to seek suitable partners or owners who have aligned objectives and approaches and who will be focused on the longer-term ambitions of those businesses and for the benefit of its customers.”
For now, business is to remain as usual. Caesars plans to find more owners for William Hills operations in the EU and UK, while merging the US business.