United Kingdom’s largest bookmaker, William Hill, and its partner GVC Holdings made a second bid last week to acquire Sportingbet but the online sportsbook has once again rejected the offer.
William Hill and GVC’s original offer to purchase Sportingbet for 52.55 p per share was immediately rejected by Sportingbet’s stakeholders who felt the offer undervalued the group considerably.
Sportingbet also rejected William Hill and GVC’s second offer of 55 p per share as it was significantly short of the 60 p per share that they were prepared to accept.
According to a person close to discussions between the companies “They are holding out for an increased offer, they have made some headway but it’s not enough. There has to be progress that the Sportingbet Board is happy with. There need to be headline terms agreed in principle. Both sides are fully aware of what [William Hill] needs to offer. ”
The deadline for the deal is 5 pm London Time on Tuesday, October 15 but it is felt that this could be extended if William Hill and GVC make a bid offer that falls within an acceptable range to Sportingbet.
Although William Hill’s boss, Ralph Topping, is rumored to be returning with a revised offer, Numis Securities analyst, Ivor Jones, does not think that the offer will be close enough to satisfy Sportingbet.