UK Court Sanctions Gambling Firm William Hill’s Takeover by Caesars

HBK had opposed the scheme of arrangement for the 2.9-billion-pound ($4 billion) deal, saying the terms of an existing joint venture between the two firms were not adequately disclosed by William Hill last year.

HBK argued shareholders voted on the scheme without information that was needed to judge the deal’s true merits. Caesars had agreed to buy the group in September last year.

The scheme is likely to become effective on April 22 after the court permitted it following a hearing last month, and shares of William Hill are expected to be delisted from the London Stock Exchange, the British company said.

Caesars had threatened to terminate its joint venture with William Hill if the takeover deal failed, making it highly unlikely that any other bidders would emerge.

“Caesars served on William Hill a notice of the addition of Apollo Global Management, Inc. and its affiliates to a list of “Restricted Acquirers” under the terms of the joint venture agreement,” HBK had said.

This led the market to believe that no rival bid for William Hill would be possible, because Caesars could promptly add any rival bidder to the list, it added.

Private equity group Apollo had also approached William Hill but later backed out.

(Reporting by Pushkala Aripaka in Bengaluru; Editing by Vinay Dwivedi)