William Hill and Caesars Entertainment merger: the golden era of M&A

Caesars Entertainment, the Las Vegas casino-owner, have struck a £2.9bn take over deal with UK betting firm William Hill. 

The industry has undoubtedly been subject to a rapid increase in M&A adoption, from the NetEnt acquisition of casino software provider Red Tiger back in 2019 which shocked the industry, Evolution purchasing NetEnt this year for around $2.5 billion, to the most recent William Hill and Caesar merger.  

The merger doesn’t come as a surprise following struggles the company has been facing for a while, and as a result, William Hill had announced that they were merging their UK retail and online businesses. In addition, William Hill had closed 119 of its UK High Street betting shops in light of COVID-19 in August, as well as the closure of their Gametek office in Sweden back in July.  

Ultimately, the US firm is interested in William Hill’s US bookmaking business, currently hosting 170 retail sites in 13 different states. Furthermore, Caesars Entertainment is looking to focus also on searching for buyers for all William Hill’s European and UK businesses.  

Roger Devlin, chairman of William Hill, stated:

The William Hill board believes this is the best option for William Hill at an attractive price for shareholders.

Caesars chief executive Tom Reeg tells the BBC:

The opportunity to combine our land based-casinos, sports betting and online gaming in the US is a truly exciting prospect.

Following the merger with Caesars, this partnership could expand further, proving 2021 could be a massive year for M&A.  

About SiGMA Europe Virtual Expo:

SiGMA Group is excited to announce the launch of their November event, SiGMA Europe Virtual Expo. The online event, which runs from the 24th to 25th, will focus on the European gaming and tech marketplace.

For more information about how to sponsor this event please contact Hamza and to explore speaking opportunities get in touch with Jeremy. To register for the expo click here.