William Hill and 888 end takeover talks

William Hill’s £750m swoop for 888 Holdings has collapsed after the parties were unable to overcome “a significant difference of opinion” with a key shareholder of the target firm.

“The Board of the company and the representatives of the principal shareholder trusts, together with their respective advisers, have had a number of discussions with William Hill and its advisers concerning a possible recommended offer, valued at 200 pence plus a 3 pence dividend per share,” this morning’s statement read.

“Due to a significant difference of opinion on value with a key stakeholder, it has not been possible to reach agreement on the terms of a possible offer and the Board of the company has agreed with William Hill to terminate discussions,” it added.

888 chief executive Brian Mattingley said the operator would now “look forward with confidence” and that the company continued to trade in line with expectations.

News of the talks were first revealed last week although eGaming Review reported a deal was far from certain with the price tag being a likely stumbling block.

This morning’s news has seen 888’s share price fall 16% to 143.5p while William Hill’s was up 6p to 388.9p at the time of writing.

More to follow.