Rank and 888 have reportedly submitted a formal £3.6bn bid for bookmaker William Hill, following news last month that the two were linking up for a possible offer.
The consortium is offering 364p a share, and has identified merger benefits which could boost the value to 408p a share, according to the Financial Times(£). This is higher than the initial reported bid value of £3bn.
William Hill’s shares have added 6.6p to 334p while Rank is down 1.1p at 211.9p and 888 has fallen 2.75p to 220.75p.
The move from Rank and 888 for William Hill is the latest in a series of upheavals in the gaming sector as it faces increased taxes, growing competition and a crackdown on lucrative fixed-odds betting terminals.
