William Hill Approaches 888 Holdings with £750 Million Purchase Offer

There can be no certainty, however, that any firm offer will be made." Reuters;

The statement from 888 Holdings confirmed the rumors about the offer, but it emphasized that nothing was finalized and there was no official approach by William Hill. It seems that at this point the deal is still a matter of discussion.

It would appear that the Israeli founders are not so keen to accept the offer as it stands now and would like to see the price per share go up to 300p. According to Karl Burns, an analyst for Panmure Gordon, the likelihood of that happening is not very big, as the offered price is already high as it is. Back in 2011, another well-known UK brand, Ladbrokes, had their eyes on the company but the deal never went through because an agreement regarding price couldn't be reached.

Burns believes that William Hill will not be willing to increase the offer as it would go over their budget and possibly put them in a position where they would have to raise capital in order to go through with their plans.

More news about this potential merger will probably be coming in the next few days, although we might not hear much about it if the deal doesn't go through. It is hard to say what a merger of these two brands would bring about, as they both bring a lot to the table and it could be a very interesting development.

While William Hill is a household name in the UK, 888poker has built a presence in the States and these two coming together could trigger some exciting changes, especially on the U.S. front, but it is speculation until more information is revealed.

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