Caesars completes acquisition of William Hill
William Hill continues to strengthen its presence in the North American market. With business in Europe in a clear recession, the well-known British bookmaker has bet, never better said, strongly on the United States. In this way, from William Hill it is expected to stop being so dependent on what happens to the market in the United Kingdom, today quite volatile. Not only the COVID-19 pandemic, Brexit could also be behind the recent moves.
Not for nothing does it cease to be surprising. After the merger of Harrah's Entertainment and Eldorado, which has led to Caesars Entertainment, the resulting company has taken over William Hill, eager to expand its operations in the United States to the maximum. ©nitli/Pixabay
Financial movements and mergers
It's no secret that Caesars Entertainment and William Hill have been collaborating for some time and strengthening the online offer from the Las Vegas casino giant. William Hill had become the main bookmaker operating in the Caesars properties, both in Las Vegas and in Atlantic City .
Since September 2018 William Hill had become partner also of Eldorado as a betting operator at the signature casinos and resorts of Reno, Nevada. With the merger of Caesars and Eldorado , William Hill kills two birds with one stone and expands its offer by becoming one of the leading online bookmakers in the US.
It is about operating in casinos and resorts throughout the length and breadth of the United States they operate under various brands, some well-known, such as Bally, Horseshoe, Caesars and Harrah's. The company was known under the name Harrah's Entertainment before becoming Caesars Entertainment as a result of the merger with Eldorado. We are talking about perhaps the largest casino operator in the world next to MGM Resorts International.
GVC also strengthens its presence in Nevada
William Hill is not the only British firm to have set its sights on the lucrative US market. GVC Holdings, owner among others of Ladbrokes and bwin, also closed an agreement in Las Vegas, this time with MGM . The result of the partnership has been the platform roardigital.com that opera casinos, betting and online poker . Partycasino and partypoker, owned by GVC, are part of the partnership that includes Borgata, the well-known Atlantic City casino and resort owned by MGM.
Something similar has happened with Flutter Entertainment, owner of the well-known Betfair and Paddy Power brands , whose merger with The Stars Group it opens the doors to the lucrative American online poker and sports betting market.
Almost 3 billion pounds
These have been the figures reported by the media: 2.9 billion pounds. Although the acquisition of William Hill by Caesars is a reality, it would still be to be completed once it must have the approval of the regulatory and antitrust authorities , which is expected to happen by the middle of next year.
With the expansion of the online sports betting market in the United States , William Hill had been one of the European firms that has been most interested in the American business in an attempt to diversify its portfolio, which, for example, has led to its subsidiary Mr Green to land in the Spanish online casino market.
According to one information published by the British news channel bbc.com , Caesars CEO Tom Reeg would have stated that,
“The opportunity to combine our land-based casinos, sports betting and online gaming in the U.S. is a really exciting prospect. William Hill's sports betting expertise will complement Caesars' current offering, enabling the group to better serve our customers in a fast-growing sports betting and online gaming market in the United States.”
According to information, the private investment company Apollo would have also bid for William Hill's U.S. business portfolio , although the association with the investment fund would have caused problems for the British. It seems that Caesars Entertainment, which was already owner of 20% of William Hill's interests in North America prior to the acquisition, he would have lobbied for William Hill not to accept Apollo's offer.
