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William Hill in gambling takeover spat with Rank and 888

Bookmaker William Hill has again firmly rebuffed 888 Holdings and Rank Group, after the latter restated the case for their unsolicited ₤ 3.16 bn offer.

After Rank and 888's offer was rejected, external on Tuesday, the duo re-stated their bet9ja's welcome offer, externalfor William Hill the next day.

They stated their proposal was "an engaging worth creation opportunity for William Hill and its shareholders".

But William Hill states there is no benefit in interesting, external on the basis of a proposal that "considerably undervalues" it.

Gareth Davis, chairman of William Hill, included: "In addition, as we have said before, this promotion code proposition is extremely opportunistic, complex and poses substantial danger for our shareholders."

'Highly complicated'

Casino and bingo hall operator Rank and online gaming group 888 had actually said on Wednesday that the proposed brand-new mix would create the UK's largest multi-channel gaming operator by revenue and earnings.

They also said it would lead to cost savings of ₤ 100m a year.

Any offer would produce the UK's third-largest online wagering group with incomes of ₤ 2.7 bn.

But in its most current rebuff, William Hill said the proposition "a highly complicated three-way combination at a really low premium".

In addition, it said there was "substantial risk for William Hill shareholders in the achievement of the estimated future expense synergies, which are only anticipated to be attained in full by the end of 2020".

And it stated it would leave the combined group operating with "considerably increased leverage of approximately ₤ 2.2 bn, carrying a much higher interest charge".

On Thursday William Hill shares were up 2.3% at 332 cent. Shares in Rank were up 0.1% at 207.90 cent, and shares in 888 were down 2.07% at 212.50 cent.

The bet9ja's welcome offer would mean 888 taking over Rank, with the newly formed business then purchasing William Hill.

The deal of 364p a share to William Hill shareholders is made up of 199p in money and 0.725% per share in the brand-new business, BidCo.

Rank and 888 argue that its business strategy would increase the new business's value to up to 408p a share - or ₤ 3.6 bn.

Other mergers in the market have include Ladbrokes and Coral signing a ₤ 2.3 bn merger in July and Paddy Power and Betfair signing up with forces in September.

Earlier this month William Hill reported a 1% rise in profits in the first half of the year, saying that strong need during the Euros football tournament had balanced out poor online sales and what it called "the worst Cheltenham leads to current history".