Exclusive: William Hill set to complete Tom Waterhouse acquisition
Senior staff at UK firm informed deal to acquire Australian operator to be announced imminently
William Hill is set to complete the acquisition of Australian bookmaker Tom Waterhouse in a deal worth in excess of AUD$100m, eGaming Review can reveal.
The deal was announced to senior management this week and represents a second significant acquisition for Hills in the market, having already purchased Sportingbet’s Australian business earlier this year.
According to sources the two parties entered into an exclusive 30-day negotiation period spanning June and July, with the completed deal set to be announced this week.
Synergies between the two companies will see some staff at Tom Waterhouse made redundant, however a source close to the matter said the majority of staff will be retained.
eGR understands Hills sees the acquisition of media assets owned by Tom Waterhouse as leg up to compete with the likes to TAB and Paddy Power in the competitive Australian market.
It will also help to reduce the CPA costs of more than £700 Hills currently faces in Australia – seven times higher than in Europe – which CEO Ralph Topping described as “too high” in a call with analysts last week.
It is also understood the buyout may begin the process of a migration to a single brand in Australia, with Hills now operating the Centrebet, Sportingbet and Tom Waterhouse brands concurrently.
A source told eGR the Centrebet brand, which Sportingbet acquired for $183m in 2011, will be phased out towards the end of 2013 with marketing spend funnelled into Sportingbet Australia.
Tom Waterhouse himself has been the subject of negative press involving obtaining insider information on horses and speculation that he is keen to cash out have been rife.
William Hill declined to comment when contacted for this story.
More to follow”¦