Caesars Entertainment expects to complete its acquisition of William Hill by 1 April after the UK-based bookmaker confirmed that the necessary regulatory approvals should be secured in the coming weeks.
Today William Hill published an update on the “timetable and conditions” regarding Caesars’ bid to acquire the bookers.
The US casino giant previously said it hoped to complete the acquisition during Q2 of 2021 and today’s update indicates that the deal is on track to be finished by then.
William Hill’s update
In the update, William Hill said that Caesars expects to receive the remaining approval from the relevant US gambling authorities and other regulatory bodies on or around 23 March.
In preparation for the acquisition, Caesars and William Hill have scheduled a Scheme Court Hearing, where the court will be asked to sanction the deal. This hearing is set to take place on 30 March.
If the court approves the deal, and both gambling businesses satisfy the required conditions, then the acquisition could be completed on 1 April.
With the merger near completion, William Hill has alerted the London Stock Exchange that it plans to delist its shareholding from the FTSE index on 1 April, with the company cancelling all FTSE share transactions by 6 April.
William Hill’s board is set to publish a new scheme document which will outline the full details of the deal along.
Caesars’ bid to acquire William Hill
In September 2020, Caesars made a £2.9bn bid to acquire the UK-based gambling giant.
Caesar’s deal to acquire the bookmaker came after Eldorado Resorts completed its $17.3bn reverse-merger deal of Caesars in July 2020. This deal put 55 casinos under Eldorado’s control.
William Hill also received an offer from Apollo Global but the William Hill board unanimously agreed to approve the Caesars deal.
The bid to acquire William Hill would see Caesars acquire the bookmaker’s entire issued and to-be issued share capital that it does not already own.
William Hill shareholders approved the deal in November and will see Caesars purchase William Hill’s 1.08bn shares at a price of £2.72 per share.
Caesars intends to hold onto William Hill’s US sports betting arm and sell off the remaining parts of the business.
The US casino operator said that the enlarged operation could generate up to $700m in net revenue during the 2021 financial year.