William Hill Creates
Joint Venture with Playtech
 October
21 - This week leading UK land and online sportsbook William
Hill announced that it has signed a lucrative deal with
top-rated online gambling software vendor, Playtech, in order to
boost its underperforming online gambling operations in a deal
worth a quarter of a billion dollars.
As part of the new deal, Playtech will take a 29 percent
stake in a new online gambling and sports betting joint venture
- William Hill Online - and bring with it an estimated
$250-million in affiliate business with the objective of
creating Europe's largest online gambling and sports betting
company.
William Hill, which is expected to sink its existing online
assets into the joint venture, will own the remaining 71 percent
of William Hill Online and have total control of the operation.
In addition, the sports betting firm has the option to buy out
Playtech's shareholding in the next four to six years.
Said William Hill CEO Ralph Topping, 'Unfortunately we have been
largely unsuccessful in building up our own online gambling
business to the level we want it so we thought the time was
right to bring in some experts in the industry. Enter Playtech
with its vast marketing and customer retention expertise.
'We could not stay the way we were as we were simply to weak.
This deal with Playtech will provide us with a far stronger
online gambling business over the next few years. As part of the
joint venture we've agreed to use Playtech's online casino and
poker software for at least the next five years,' he said.
As of September 2008, William Hill's net debt was reported as
1,031.5-million pounds, a reduction of 27.4-million pounds from
the position on July 1st this year. Shares in William Hill
increased by 14 percent, or 23p, to 189.5p, one of its steepest
gains in the past six years.
Visit
William Hill now.
|
|
|
