The Final Countdown for 888’s acquisition of William Hill in Q2 2022

888 Holdings has big expectations for 2022, with William Hill’s acquisition being the most important move. This purchase involves all the non-US assets and is expected to be completed no later than July 2022. If everything goes according to the plan the acquisition will be done in the second quarter. Looking back at the announcements made in November, it is obvious that there were slight setbacks. The initial deadline was set for the first quarter of the current year, so the differences are not staggering.

888 regards this purchase as extremely important and does its due diligence to make sure everything goes according to the plan. This includes the publishing of a prospectus and circular for the acquisition, as well as the capital rise. The final and most important step of the project is the shareholder vote, which is needed to conclude the deal. The company plans on issuing new equity, in its quest to generate £500m of gross proceeds. This is also expected to be dealt with in the second quarter of 2022.

The Birth of a Leading Online Betting and Gaming Group

If this transaction goes according to the plan, the result will be a huge gambling group. It was built on the strength of the existing brands, while enjoying superior scale and diversification, therefore its growth potential will be exceptional. Some of the initial obstacles were swiftly dealt with, such as the antitrust and gaming regulatory clearances. Now that these hurdles are out of the way, there are no obvious reasons why the transaction would fail.

The purchase of the non-US assets of William Hill International is a big deal and there were plenty of interested parties. 888 had to go through a heated auction and emerged victorious after signing an agreement with Caesars Entertainment. Back in September 2021, the two companies have reached an accord, with 888 to acquire the assets for £2.2bn. The costs are high but the upsides are self-evident and the buyer has already found more sources of income. For example, 888 will sell the entire B2B and B2C bingo businesses for $50 million to Saphalata Holdings. This will also occur in the second quarter of 2022, so the first half of the year promises to be quite busy for the company.