Caesars in Advanced Talks to Buy William Hill

Caesars Entertainment is in advanced talks to acquire the UK-based bookmaker William Hill for £2.9 billion.

In a joint statement, the companies said that Caesars was considering offering 272 pence per share for William Hill.

“The opportunity to combine our land based-casinos, sports betting and online gaming in the US is a truly exciting prospect,” Tom Reeg, chief executive of Caesars Entertainment, said.

“William Hill’s sports betting expertise will complement Caesars’ current offering,” he added.

To fund the deal, Caesars said it was announcing a new equity raise, and would also take out $2 billion of new debt secured against William Hill’s non-US businesses.

“Together with iGaming, which is currently outside the scope of the joint venture, Caesars expects that the enlarged sports and online gaming business in the US could generate between $600-$700m net revenue in FY2021,” the statement said.