888 completes £2bn William Hill acquisition to form 'powerful' global business

The £2 billion acquisition of William Hill International by online gaming and betting operator 888 was completed on Friday, with chief executive Itai Pazner saying the company had a "powerful" platform for growth.

Pazner announced the new management team for the group, which has tripled in size by purchasing the non-US parts of the William Hill business from casino giant Caesars Entertainment.

As was announced last week, William Hill chief executive Ulrik Bengtsson is leaving the company, along with former Hills chief financial officer (CFO) Eric Hageman.

Pazner will be chief executive, with Yariv Dafna as CFO and Vaughan Lewis as chief strategy officer. Phil Walker, who held a series of senior roles at Gala Coral and Ladbrokes Coral before joining 888, will be managing director for the UK.

Pazner said he was delighted to announce the completion of the "transformational" combination with William Hill.

He added: "We have built an outstanding leadership team, combining strengths from across both businesses, and as I look at the future, the combination of our product and content leadership, powered by our proprietary technology, and our world-class brands, gives us a powerful platform for growth.

"I'd like to thank Ulrik and Eric for the great job they have done at William Hill and I wish them well for the future."

888 chair Lord Mendelsohn said the acquisition would create a "powerful, global betting and gaming business".

He added: "We believe the acquisition will create significant value for shareholders, creating a combined business with leading technology, products and brands across sports betting and gaming. With a top-quality management team, formed from talent from across both businesses, I am confident about our future plans."

Betfred: profits down following Covid lockdownCredit: Chris Bourchier

Elsewhere in the industry, profits have fallen at Betfred according to the bookmaker's latest set of accounts lodged with Companies House.

Profit after tax for the year to September 26, 2021 was £5.3 million, down from £165m the previous year. Amounts wagered rose to just short of £7bn from around £6.5bn, but still below the pre-Covid figure of £10.1bn.

Operating profit fell to £26.6m from £104.5m for the previous period in which Betfred received £97.7m following a successful VAT claim against HMRC. However, Ebitda (earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation) rose to £46.5m from £35.3m.

The company said that while amounts wagered, turnover and Ebitda had fallen in the company's betting shops due to the Covid-19 lockdown between November 2020 and April 2021, increases in online had more than compensated for that loss.

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