William Hill owner Evoke agrees £243m takeover by Greek firm Bally’s Intralot
12 reported
The owner of William Hill and the 888 online casino brand, Evoke, has agreed to a £243m takeover by the Greek casino and lottery operator Bally’s Intralot. The all-stock deal values Evoke at 52p a share, a 77% premium to the company’s average share price of 29.4p over the quarter to 17 April. Evoke had been in talks with the Athens-listed Bally’s Intralot for the past two months. The companies cited the government’s November announcement of a significant increase in remote gaming duty, from 21% to 40%, as a “material shift in the UK operating environment.” That rise took effect in April, and a duty on online sports bets will increase from 15% to 25% from April 2027, except for horse racing. Evoke, headquartered in Gibraltar, has net debt of about £1.8bn and a market value of just over £180m. Shares in Evoke rose 15% on Friday as investors welcomed the deal.
What’s reported
Evoke has agreed to a £243m takeover by Greek casino and lottery operator Bally’s Intralot.
The all-stock deal values Evoke at 52p a share, a 77% premium to its average 29.4p share price over the quarter to 17 April.
Evoke had been in talks with Bally’s Intralot for the past two months.
The government announced a remote gaming duty increase from 21% to 40% in November, which took effect in April.
An online sports bets duty will increase from 15% to 25% from April 2027, except for horse racing.
Evoke has net debt of about £1.8bn and a market value of just over £180m.
Evoke shares rose 15% on Friday.
Evoke’s chief executive, Per Widerström, has said the tax changes would cost the business up to £135m a year.
Evoke will close about 200 William Hill betting shops from May, citing cost pressures including tax rises.
The Shaked family, which co-founded 888 in 1997 and holds a 19.2% stake in Evoke, backed the merger.
In 2023, Evoke removed its chief executive and suspended VIP customer accounts in the Middle East amid an internal investigation into anti-money-laundering failures.
In 2022, Evoke agreed to pay a £9.4m fine over failings that led to customers amassing huge losses during the Covid pandemic.
Key figures
Per Widerström, chief executive of Evoke
Mark Summerfield, chair of Evoke
Avi Shaked, co-founder of 888 (Evoke)
Soo Kim, chair of Bally’s
Sources: The Guardian
