William Hill has announced the break-down of take-over talks with the Gibraltar-based company Probability, confirming that any discussion of a merger is now over. The online casino company and high street bookmaker has decided to let go of discussions concerning a possible take-over, with both companies set to continue as separate firms for the foreseeable future.
With around one million UK customers when it comes to bingo, poker and casino game, William Hill is already one of the most successful and established online betting companies providing online gamers with poker facilities, bingo and casino games online. The company is bidding to maximise its presence and up itself in the competition between major online gaming rivals such as innovative Wink Bingo operator 888 Holdings and the more traditional Betfair.
Giving no reason for the dissolution in talks, William Hill has left the online casino world simply speculating. However, after recent reports about Playtech taking a 21% stake in its online arm, it is generally felt that the proposed deal with Probability could have hurt the company’s interests.
Since the announcement, shares in William Hill have been seen to rise a small amount, whereas Probability has seen a decline of 16%. This fall in share prices is mainly due to the company losing some of the gains it had made following the talks which were announced back in September.
Speculation has come far and wide from all over the online casino world and Nick Batram, analyst at Peel Hunt, recently commented: "The deal with Probability was interesting but it was never going to be a game changer for William Hill. William Hill already has a good mobile phone offering, particularly on sports betting and it has the resources to drive forward its own mobile presence."
Since the increase in online gaming activity in general in recent years, boosted by betting on-the-move through smartphones and tablet computers, the gambling sector is seen as ripe and ready for some further takeovers, especially following the merger of Bwin and PartyGaming earlier this year to form bwin.party digital. William Hill stated that it is rapidly extending its share of the online market, with punters placing bets upon its pre-match and in-play deals.
