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William Hill approached by 888 and Rank for gambling merger

UK betting firm William Hill has actually been approached by rival gambling business 888 and Rank Group about a merger.
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William Hill said it would "listen to and consider" any proposition.

However, it was unclear that a mix of William Hill, 888 and Rank would "deliver exceptional value", the business said, external.

Online operator 888 and Rank, the UK's biggest gambling establishment chain, stated they saw "substantial commercial logic in the combination".

William Hill said the method was "extremely initial", while Rank and 888 said they had actually not yet made an official bet9ja's welcome offer to the bookie's board.

Shares in William Hill increased 4.8%, while 888 shares rose 3.4% and Rank lost 0.5%.
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'Surprise'

The move comes simply days after William Hill's chief executive, James Henderson, was ousted from the UK's biggest wagering store operator following a series of profit warnings.
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Mr Henderson, who took the helm in August 2014, had stopped working to solve problems in the firm's having a hard time online company.
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In May, its most recent trading update, the company said, external net revenues had actually fallen 11% in its online department in the 17 weeks to 26 April.

William Hill's shares have actually dropped 21% considering that the start of the year, valuing the previous FTSE 100 at ₤ 2.7 bn.

David Jennings, an expert at Davy, said the yohaig code news was "undoubtedly a surprise, considered that the combined value of 888 and Rank is ₤ 1.7 bn".

Rank and 888 stated there was "no certainty that any transaction will ultimately happen".

Rank's primary executive, Henry Birch, is a former head of William Hill's online department.

Under UK takeover rules, the firms have till 21 August to either make a company deal or leave.
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The prospective quote comes after William Hill tried to get 888 in 2015 in a ₤ 720m deal, however the bet9ja's welcome offer collapsed after 888 turned down the deal as too low.

Ever since, rival betting firms Ladbrokes and Gala Coral have agreed a ₤ 2.3 bn merger which got initial regulator approval in May.

The combined group would make it larger than William Hill, presently the yohaig code biggest UK bookie based on variety of shops.
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Irish bookmaker Paddy Power and online operator Betfair also accepted join forces last September.

Gambling industry bets on debt consolidation

William Hill and 888 end quote talks
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Betting merger may depend on store sales

20 May 2016
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