SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
The governance of FTSE250 bookmaker William Hill Plc has this morning confirmed that it has secured approval of ‘all necessary authorities across related jurisdictions’, to complete its €270million acquisition of Stockholm-listed MRG Group.
The transaction which has been approved by MRG governance was first propositioned on 31 October 2018, with William Hill seeking to boost its European regulated markets profile, whilst further securing an established player profile within lucrative Nordic markets.
William Hill’s SEK 69 cash per share offer has been forwarded to MRG investors, who have been granted until 17 January 2019, to review and accept the takeover offer.
The FTSE bookmaker’s final SEK 2.8 billion bid represents a 49% premium on MRG’s October Stockholm closing price.
Confident of acquiring its target, last October William Hill governance announced that new Group Chief Digital Officer Ulrik Bengtsson, the former CEO of Betsson AB, would be tasked with leading the integration of MRG assets.
Closing 2018, William Hill Group CEO Philip Bowcock stated at the firm’s Capital Markets Day, that his new executive team would prioritise reshaping the legacy betting group into a ‘diverse and dynamic global gambling enterprise’.
“We will meaningfully reshape William Hill over the coming years, moving from a business that is predominantly UK-centric and land-based to being a leading gambling business that is digitally led, internationally diverse and sustainable” Bowcock detailed to investors.
