Bally’s Intralot Completes £243 Million Takeover of William Hill Owner Evoke

The protracted takeover talks between Bally’s Intralot and Evoke have finally come to a conclusion, with both parties agreeing to a £243 million deal.

It means that the Greek firm will take over the running of Evoke’s brands, namely William Hill, 888 and Mr Green, which signals their intent to become a major player in the UK market.

It brings to an end two months of negotiations, with Bally’s Intralot upping their initial offer of £225 million to seal the deal.

Tough Trading Conditions

Evoke’s challenging four years as the proprietor of William Hill have come to an end.

They acquired the European operations of the brand in 2022, after Caesars Entertainment – who had purchased William Hill’s intellectual property – refused to operate their non-US business.

Evoke paid the princely sum of £2.2 billion for the privilege, but quickly faced a raft of legislative changes that dramatically impacted upon their investment.

The situation was worsened by the UK government’s gambling tax hikes, which were first announced in November and phased in as of April. Remote Gaming Duty was practically doubled from 21% to 40%, while the duty paid on sports bets was also increased in a hammer blow to the sector.

Those tax rises have led to what Evoke has described as a ‘material shift in the UK operating environment’, forcing the company to hold an emergency strategy meeting.

The outcome of that was for a part-sale of one of their brands, or a complete group sale, to be investigated.

Already saddled with around £1.8 billion in debt, Evoke’s share price also plummeted by 90% - they were vulnerable to a takeover bid, should any prospective buyer be willing to take on their debt burden…

Bagging a Bargain

Bally’s Intralot, formed as part of a merger between the American casino brand and Greek lottery firm last year, will assume control of William Hill’s online operations and their high street shots, which still number more than 1,000 despite a raft of closures.

The £243 million sale price is roughly just 10% of what Evoke paid for William Hill alone just four years ago; suggesting that Bally’s Intralot have landed a bargain if they can turn around the fortunes of one of the UK’s oldest bookmaking businesses.

They have paid a premium initially, with the agreed 52p per share sale price higher than the 50p bid originally tabled earlier this year – and a significant increase on the 29.4p value that Evoke’s stock carried on April 17: the last business day prior to the talks being made public.

Despite the warnings of William Hill boss Per Widerstrom, who has claimed that the tax hikes will cost the business as much as £130 million a year, Bally’s Intralot have pressed on with the £243 million takeover.

As well as the purchase price, they will also ingest Evoke’s staggering £1.8 billion – at a time when the Greek firm is also saddled with £1 billion of debt themselves due to costs associated with their merger.

Bally’s Intralot have called upon private equity investors, who include TPG Credit, Oaktree and OHA, to help restructure the burden.

“Intralot continues to believe that the UK is a highly attractive geography and the current market dislocation presents a significant opportunity for consolidation,” a statement from the brand reads.

Mark Summerfield, the chairman of Evoke, said: “I am delighted to announce the acquisition by Intralot and believe the agreed terms represent the most attractive and deliverable outcome for Evoke shareholders.

“… [this is] the best route to deliver long-term value for our shareholders and broader stakeholders.”