Hills merger deal with Amaya called off

William Hill's proposed merger with Canadian firm Amaya has been cancelled after the British bookmakers withdrew from the deal on Tuesday.

The merger had been announced eight days earlier but concerns were raised by Hills' largest shareholder, Parvus Asset Management, in an open letter late last week and it appears those issues could not be satisfactorily addressed.

A statement released on behalf of Hills's interim chief executive Philip Bowcock read: "At the time of the announcement on 10 October 2016, various exploratory due diligence and other workstreams were underway but far from complete.