Posts Tagged "William Hill"

William Hill turns down bid by Rank-888 consortium

William Hill turns down bid by Rank-888 consortium

The board of William Hill has accused the Casino operator Rank Group and the online gambling company 888 of undervaluing it. This led the bookmaker to decline a £3.3bn takeover bid from the two companies. Casino operator Rank Group and the online gambling company had made a proposal worth 364p per share. Combining three businesses into one group significantly increases risk according to William Hill. Citi Group and Barclays advised William Hill against accepting the offer. The deal requires an estimated amount of £2.2 billion in refinanced debt in order to complete the deal.

The bookmarker’s chairman, Gareth Davis stated that the merger undervalues William Hill. He also said that the proposal does not reflect the true value of the business. The risks likely to be experienced from the three-way combination include integration risks, risks of materially increase leverage and execution risk. He also stated that the group had a very strong team that would foresee the growth of various digital and international businesses. An 888 spokesman accused the bookmaker for making rude remarks after the group stated that they had recognized merger benefits that would increase the proposal up to 408p a share.

William Hill failed to capitalize on an increasing online betting market and they are currently looking for a new Chief Executive. The online business gets about 35% revenues from the bookmarker and has recently been having problems with the functionality and ease of use regarding the use of the website. There has been upheavals in the gambling industry because of increased tax, growing competition and the lucrative fixed-odds betting terminals which is currently on crackdown. This makes the move by Rank and 888 for William Hill among the most recent.  The joined business between Paddy Power and Betfair merging is a FTSE 100 member.

The major question now remains of whether the consortium parties will merger separately or whether Rank and 888 will make a further plea to merge with William Hill.

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Swift Merger Wave: William Hill odds on recent bid

Swift Merger Wave: William Hill odds on recent bid

It looks as if the current superfluity on mergers has not swept off the British Bookmaker, William Hill. Rank Group and 888 Holdings are reported to have reached out to the UK bookmaking jumbo with merging offers. However, despite there not being an official response yet, it is likely that the offers will be rejected o grounds that they lack the value and quality William Hill believes in.

Given the current status of the company, the pressure to concede and merge has been rising day in day out. The sports betting power company currently lacks a CEO and is facing market threats from new competitors. Even so, it appears to be maintaining acceptable business sense.

The company made a general statement on the two offers from 888 holdings and Rank Group where it made it clear that merging with either of these did not appear ideal for the company’s strategic position. In addition, the offers bear no exceptional value for the company’s policy and game plan.

It would be reasoned out that if William Hill signed off the bid, they would essentially from the biggest betting operator in Britain. Their hesitation is premised on the notion that ‘bigger is not always better’. There is what William Hill is looking for but it was morosely not found in the operators of Britain’s top casino and bingohalls.

In the face of intensified competition, William Hill maintains its status and dominance. Following a publication to advance its market value to 3.1 billion pounds, the stock lopped 11%. The corporate worth of both 888 Holdings and Rank Group is only a fraction of that with 844 million pounds and 986 million pounds respectively.

Even so, it is not all merry at William Hill given their recent track. Not so long ago they recorded a low on online performance that saw its two year old CEO packing. The likes of 88 and rank Group major on online performance, therefore to stay ahead, William Hill must up its game. The bookmaking giant has a lead now as it is and hopefully it maintains it by making critically decisive steps.

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KPMG called to carry out a digital Review

KPMG called to carry out a digital Review

William Hill has come before the KPMG consultancy in an effort to look into the strategic effort on the company’s digital and technology operations. This is according to news from the UK business made available earlier last weekend. William Hill financial update which led to the posting of an 11% net revenue decrease in digital division earlier in May is what led to the strategic consultancy review. There has also been a decrease in online games which have gone down to -4% and sports gambling which have gone down to –17%. In an effort to establish internal technology creations back in 2015 modern proprietary website known as ‘Project Trafalgar’ was put in place to increase user engagement with its desktop and mobile offering.

People in charge of William Hill have come out to state that Project Trafalgar original expectations have not been met. Gambling acceptance and expansion will be accepted in the UK market and this will cause mobile integration difficulty in the initial stages. The company is however invested in long term viability. Andrew Lee has been replaced by a new Managing Director of Online known as Crispin Nieboer. This came shortly after the opening half of 2016 which saw William Hill leaders foresee the new digital leadership. The opening half has also seen to the revision of the FTSE-listed operator in terms of all its annual earnings which range from £260-280 million. This has led to a decrease in William Hill shares from 410p in early February to 281p earlier this month.

The William Hill authorities have decided to commence with expansion of technological competences. There is also hope of purchasing the market leading gambling platform provider OpenBet by the Canadian firm NYX Gaming. This is to take place by using the £275 million joint-venture. This announcement comes shortly after the William Hill Director of Innovation and Customer Experience resigned. The director seemed to have played an important part in the development of the WHLabs. He is also responsible for overseeing the Project Trafalgar which led to the development of internal betting website. Hart, who is the retired Director will not be replaced but his role in the company will be divided between the senior management functions.

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Nevada sports betting can be a $5 billion industry soon

Nevada sports betting can be a $5 billion industry soon

Back in the 1970s Super Bowl week used to experience very little attention, Jimmy Vaccaro who has witnessed four decades as a Las Vegas bookmaker explains. He was very astonished to witness massive crowds of people buying tickets for the Super Bowl game in February and March. The sports betting figures in Nevada was at $2.4 billion in 2006, $3 billion in 2012 and then went to $4.2 billion in 2015. The figures are expected to rise to $5 billion in 2016. The senior research analyst for the Gaming Control Board, Michael Lawton said that the $5 billion estimate would be very much possible with the way things were being witnessed. He said that the sports betting in Nevada was growing stronger each day, mobile phone applications and mainstream media being the major contributors to the growth.

Sports’ betting in Nevada is being aided by various factors including mobile apps, convectional and social media interest, the increase of in-game and proposition gambling fantasy sports’ popularity, the Las Vegas book advancement and the increase in some of the economical and societal factors. In the recent years, the great gaming events have been attracting so much attention. From the Super Bowl games, the NCCA Tournament and the great fight between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao. This was backed up by Matthew Holt who is the president of CG Technology sports books. Even though some of the sports betting activities such as Pinnacle are being held in America, the average person cannot wager using a credit card.

The amount of revenue generated by these underground bookmakers in the U.S is up to $400 billion. Nevada is becoming quite popular with revenue of up to $5 billion. This has been attributed to advances in technology with CG Technology and William Hill sports leading the way. The mobile phone app also increased the number of people who engage in sports betting. Vaccaro added that over 100 customers signed up for the mobile application during the NCCA Tournament. This was also backed up by Jay Kornegay who is the Westgate sports book director. In the recent times, finding a sports book with no mobile app is very difficult. According to Roxborough in the late 1990s sports books were facing challenges from casinos but this has changed.

Sports bookmakers are becoming quite noticeable in the sports betting areas in games such as baseball, golf, hockey, and military games. The state gaming rules are also slacking to elevate sports betting. The Senate Bill 443 was also signed thus allowing business premises in Nevada to allow investors to place bets in behalf of investors from all over the world.

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William Hill greyhound derby overview ahead of Sky Sports coverage of the third phase

William Hill greyhound derby overview ahead of Sky Sports coverage of the third phase

Finally the Greyhound Derby winner for 2016 will be made known this coming Saturday. What remains uncertain is exactly which of the remaining 48 contestants will be the crowned the winner. The competitions held last Saturday brought life in every possible way through the various emotions. This was one of the more straightforward restorations of the Derby. Ballymac Matt, who is the Irish Derby winner, was required to deliver the first crucial moment; as he came flying out of the traps to record a figure of 28.05 with Droopys Latina following closely behind. Kelly Macari’s dog which was eliminated in the opening round last year proved that the race was just a bad day at the office and the bookmakers certainly ran for cover.

Lenson Panda ran down the back straight to the enthusiastic encouragement of the crowd. This made the time seem so short. Unbelievably, the joy did not last for a very long time as Lenson broke a pawn, and the well-loved Jaytee Spartacus consigned himself to elimination as he cannoned into the afflicted runner. Lenny Ponder’s dog has however gone through a successful operation on his afflicted pawn and will be able to go through another day. Just like Premier Fantasy who came years before him, he left the Derby with the impossible question of what could have come out of the race. Lenson Sanchez won the race in the last second, as associates were trying to gain a spot of consolation. However, the crowd was glued to what was happening behind them.

Jaytee Jet was stopped short at the first turn making him lose all his balance and he found himself almost off the track. He was forced to join Badmoonrising on the line for disqualification. Farloe Cody was evicted on Tuesday but a run-off was not needed as both runners justly took their places in the drum. Eden the Kid pushed himself to the ante-post preference for the Derby after he succeeded on Thursday evening. He has made several changes on his running style since he covered the finals last year but he has not stopped liking Wimbledon. He is due to meet up with Droopys Roddick for a meeting on Saturday.

There have been nine Irish dogs progressing to the stage, where Jaytee Dutch did not seem to have a chance at qualifying. The most famous greyhounds in training is the Oaks winner, where Mark Wallis bitch secured her place in the third round. Only three will qualify to Tuesday’s quarter-finals.

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