888 Holdings and Grosvenor casinos operator Rank Group have decided to step away from the deal.
As we have previously reported, 888poker owners 888 Holdings and Grosvenor casino/Mecca Bingo operators Rank Group made a $4,2 billion offer for William Hill, one of the biggest bookmakers in the United Kingdom.
William Hill, which also offers players online poker services has rejected the offer and many industry experts believed this was an attempt to receive a bigger offer from 888 and Rank. If that was their plan, it didn't quite work out, as 888 and Rank have released a press statement stating that they will step away from the deal.
It's not impossible that they will eventually come back with a bigger offer but as of now there will be no deal. Considering the fact that William Hill shares have been declining since 2013, it's quite possible that they will come back to the deal in 1-2 years.
The UK gambling market has been extremely competetive in the past few years which has resulted in several giant mergers. In order to cut operational costs and earn bigger profits, Betfair and Paddy Power have merged (creating a new company worth £5 billion), as did Gala Coral and Ladbrokes ($3.4 billion new company).
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