{"id":1243,"date":"2016-10-11T15:11:26","date_gmt":"2016-10-11T15:11:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.top10pokersites.net\/?p=1243"},"modified":"2016-10-11T15:11:26","modified_gmt":"2016-10-11T15:11:26","slug":"william-hill-and-amaya-confirm-talks-for-merger-of-equals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.top10pokersites.net\/news\/william-hill-and-amaya-confirm-talks-for-merger-of-equals","title":{"rendered":"William Hill and Amaya Confirm Talks For Merger Of Equals"},"content":{"rendered":"
Gambling giants Amaya Inc and William Hill Plc have said that they are in talks for a merger of equals. It is the latest in a series of deals towards the increasing consolidation of the betting industry. The two companies released a joint statement after Reuters reported news of ongoing talks. In the statement, UK betting major William Hill<\/a> said that it is exploring ways to diversify its business by looking at both online and offline gaming opportunities.<\/p>\n The statement said that since the talks are in initial stages, the talks may not necessarily be successful, but if it is then it would be a merger of equals and an all-share transaction. If it goes through the deal is likely to have significant implications for the online gaming industry. <\/p>\n James Wheatcroft<\/strong>, an analyst at Deutsche Bank<\/a> said that the deal would result in the world\u2019s largest global online gaming company and would help generating estimated savings of over $100 million. Amaya\u2019s current market capitalization is at C$3.4 billion ($2.6 billion) which is lesser than William Hill\u2019s which is at 2.7 billion pounds ($3.3 billion). The news of the merger talks resulted in William Hill\u2019s share price rising by 6.5 percent to 313.6 pence while Amaya\u2019s went up 8.2 percent.<\/p>\n According to media reports, B2B gaming developer and supplier GVC<\/strong> has also expressed interest in purchasing Amaya. The company has however not confirmed these reports. William Hill recently turned down a bid by a consortium comprising 888 Holdings<\/strong> and Rank Group<\/strong> saying that the bid offer was too low. The company has been posting low growth in the past few years and has been struggling to expand successfully into digital channels.<\/p>\n In February 2016, Amaya\u2019s former CEO David Baazov<\/strong> said that he along with other investors was working towards making an offer for the company to take it private. However, the following month Baazov was charged with insider trading by the Canadian gaming regulator which ultimately resulted in Baazov stepping down from his role<\/a>.<\/p>\n