William Hill shareholders greenlight Caesars acquisition offer

At the shareholder meetings held Thursday, the William Hill shareholders approved the recommended cash offer of 272p per share from Caesars. Each of the resolutions were approved by the requisite majority of shareholders, with over 86% of the votes cast at the meetings in favor of the transaction, surpassing the 75% approval rate needed to support the move.

The parties said they are making progress towards obtaining all necessary regulatory approvals required to close the transaction and Caesars is now aiming to complete the 2.9 billion pounds ($3.72 billion) acquisition in March 2021.

Tom Reeg, CEO of Caesars Entertainment, Inc. said: "We are pleased to have received William Hill shareholder support for our recommended cash offer. We continue to work towards satisfying the remaining regulatory conditions and look forward to completing the transaction next year and integrating William Hill U.S. into our Caesars sports betting and iGaming franchise." 

In September, Caesars agreed to the takeover deal and received backing from the William Hill board. However, the move was only able to progress after a rival suitor, private equity giant Apollo, pulled its own takeover approach last week. The transaction is subject to the satisfaction of the remaining outstanding regulatory conditions and final approval of the English Court.

Caesars already owns a 20% stake in William Hill’s US operations, which have exclusive rights to operate sports betting under the Caesars brand.