William Hill agrees Sportingbet purchase

26Dec 2012

William Hill

Following months of negotiations, British betting giant William Hill and fellow sportsbook provider GVC Holdings have reached an agreement that will see them spend £485 million in order to acquire the entire issued share capital of rival operator Sportingbet.

London-based William Hill stated that the deal will see it take control of Sportingbet’s entire Australian business in addition to ‘certain other assets’ while additionally being granted a call option on its operations in Spain.

For its part, GVC Holdings is to hold the remainder of Sportingbet’s business with the entire purchase set to be completed and operational, subject to the necessary approvals, by March.

“We are pleased to reach agreement with the board of Sportingbet, who unanimously recommend our joint offer,” said Ralph Topping, Chief Executive Officer for William Hill.

“This acquisition not only highlights William Hill's commitment to grow further internationally into regulated high-growth markets such as Australia but also supports our strategic aim to diversify revenue sources into new territories and through greater multi-channel usage.

“Our unique combination with GVC provides a complete solution for Sportingbet and its shareholders and we look forward to working with the management and employees of Sportingbet in Australia and Spain to combine our joint experience and expertise to create additional value for our customers and shareholders.”

William Hill revealed that the final offer sees its value Sportingbet shares at 56.1 pence each with holders set to receive 44.8 pence in cash in addition to 0.0435 new GVC shares per Sportingbet share and a final dividend of 1.1 pence per share.

“The acquisition of the remaining Sportingbet businesses will be transformational for GVC,” said Kenneth Alexander, Chief Executive Officer for Isle of Man-based GVC.

“The businesses GVC is acquiring will complement the existing profile of GVC and should consolidate its position as one of the leading operators in its market. A key element of GVC’s strategy has been maintaining an aggressive dividend policy and the GVC directors believe that the acquisition of the remaining Sportingbet businesses will contribute to this strategy going forward.”

London-based Sportingbet currently holds betting and gaming licences and approvals in Alderney, Australia, Denmark, Ireland, Italy, Malta, South Africa, Spain and the UK and reported adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation for the year to the end of July of £56.8 million on £2.349 billion in amounts wagered.

“Sportingbet is one of the world's best-known online sportsbetting companies renowned for the quality of its product offering, customer service and technological innovation,” said Andrew McIver, Chief Executive Officer for Sportingbet.

“This position has been achieved thanks to the considerable efforts and skills of all our staff, who managed so successfully to turn the business around following the Sportingbet’s exit from the United States market in 2006. Every Sportingbet employee around the world should be proud of what has been achieved.

“This offer represents a good outcome for Sportingbet shareholders as they can elect to receive the offer in cash and it is at a significant premium to the group’s share price in the three month period prior to the consortium announcing their interest in Sportingbet on 19 September 2012.”