Evoke agrees £243m takeover by Greek casino firm Bally's Intralot

The Takeover Deal

Evoke, the owner of William Hill and the 888 online casino brand, has agreed a £243m takeover by the Greek casino and lottery operator Bally's Intralot.

The Background of the Deal

Evoke has been locked in talks with the Athens-listed Bally's Intralot, which has extensive international operations including in the US, for the past two months. The deal comes four years after Evoke, previously known as 888 Holdings, paid £2.2bn to buy William Hill's network of 1,400 high street bookmakers.

The Impact of UK Gaming Tax Changes

The companies said the government's announcement in November of a significant increase in remote gaming duty, from 21% to 40%, triggered a “material shift in the UK operating environment” that will “create meaningful dislocation across the competitive landscape”. Evoke's shares have fallen by 90% since the William Hill acquisition.

Market Reaction and Future Outlook

• Shares in London-listed Evoke soared by more than 12.5% in early trading as investors welcomed the takeover deal.
• Evoke has net debt of about £1.8bn and a market value of just over £180m.
• The Evoke chief executive, Per Widerström, has previously said that the changes in gambling tax would cost the business up to £135m a year.

Mark Summerfield, the chair of Evoke, said the deal represented “the most attractive and deliverable outcome for Evoke shareholders”.

The Future of Evoke and Bally's Intralot

Soo Kim, the chair of Bally's, said that Intralot was confident the deal would “deliver substantial benefits for both Intralot and Evoke shareholders”. Intralot provides technology for 12 state lotteries in the US and has operations in Europe, South America, north Africa, south-east Asia, Australia and New Zealand.