Caesars Entertainment Acquires William Hill For $3.7 Billion
- William Hill will be acquired by Caesars Entertainment for $3.7 billion.
- The popular sportsbook will become a subsidiary of Caesars Entertainment, Inc.
- Caesars believes sports betting is the fastest growing gambling market in the US.
RENO, Nev. – Caesars Entertainment, Inc. has bid $3.7 billion in a massive acquisition to claim William Hill as a subsidiary. This acquisition will give Caesars Entertainment over 20% equity ownership to William Hills 80%.
Going forward, all Caesars casino operations will run the William Hill sportsbook. Caesars currently operates in 54 locations across 16 states.
Both companies believe the joint venture will broaden the scope and fully maximize the sports betting and gaming sector to bring forth the best customer experience possible.
Major Acquisition
We are pleased to announce that we have reached an agreement on the terms of a recommended cash acquisition pursuant to which Caesars will acquire the entire issued & to be issued share capital of @WilliamHill for approx £2.9 billion.
Read full release: https://t.co/d3mDneEAh2 pic.twitter.com/2ZluWC8sgP— Caesars Entertainment (@CaesarsEnt) September 30, 2020
This massive acquisition will combine William Hill into Caesars Entertainment through cash pursuant. The process must be subjected to anti-trust and regulatory approvals before things are official. The expected completion of the deal is in the latter half of 2021.
"The opportunity to combine our land based-casinos, sports betting and online gaming in the U.S. is a truly exciting prospect," said Tom Reeg, Caesars Entertainment CEO. "William Hill's sports betting expertise will complement Caesars' current offering, enabling the combined group to serve our customers in the fast-growing U.S. sports betting and online market. We look forward to working with William Hill to support future growth in the U.S. by providing our customers with a superior and comprehensive experience across all areas of gaming, sports betting, and entertainment."
Caesars Entertainment has a strong belief that the legal sports betting and online gambling markets are the largest areas for potential growth in the country.
The gaming industry is projected to reach the market size of $30-35 billion in the coming year based on analysts who studied the acceleration of gaming legislation by state. The results of this research were a driving force in the acquisition.
Both companies are excited to push forth with the partnership. William Hill has expressed an optimistic future in the official press release.
"The William Hill Board believes this is the best option for William Hill at an attractive price for shareholders," said Roger Devlin, Chairman of William Hill, commenting on the Acquisition. "It recognizes the significant progress the William Hill Group has made over the last 18 months, as well as the risk and significant investment required to maximize the U.S. opportunity given intense competition in the U.S. and the potential for regulatory disruption in the U.K. and Europe."
Although sports bettors will have to wait until 2021 to see the fruits of the labor, this partnership boasts an exciting future for the legal U.S. gambling industry.