- Commissioner’s statement on Ventura, Marte
- Ronnie O’Sullivan: Masters champion ‘felt so vulnerable’ in final
- Arron Fletcher Wins 2017 WSOP International Circuit Marrakech Main Event ($140,224)
- Smith challenges Warner to go big in India
- Moncada No. 1 on MLB Pipeline’s Top 10 2B Prospects list
- Braves land 2 on MLB Pipeline’s Top 10 2B Prospects list
- Kingery makes MLB Pipeline’s Top 10 2B Prospects list
- New Zealand wrap up 2-0 after Bangladesh implosion
- Mathews, Pradeep, Gunathilaka to return to Sri Lanka
- Elliott hopes for rain for Poli
Merger Discussions Between Amaya and William Hill Aborted, PokerStars Responds to ‘Inaccuracies’
- Updated: October 18, 2016
British sports betting giant William Hill and Amaya, the parent company of the world’s largest real-money online poker room PokerStars, ended discussions about a potential merger between the two gaming companies.
Talks began regarding a blockbuster merger began earlier this month with Reuters breaking the news last Monday that the two leading gambling entities were engaged in discussions of an “all-share merger of equals.”
Discussions continued until recently despite a number of issues that have already cropped up, the Telegraph reported Saturday.
Such a deal would see William Hill, a leading British bookmaker serving as the sportsbook operator for a number of Las Vegas casinos, gain potential access to PokerStars’ wide array of customers. PokerStars, meanwhile, would get to fast track its nascent sports betting operation by merging with an industry giant.
“The potential merger would be consistent with the strategic objectives of both William Hill and Amaya and would create a clear international leader across online sports betting, poker and casino,” the two companies stated in a press release at the time.
However, at least one major shareholder of William Hill doesn’t share that opinion.
Parvus Asset Management, the leading shareholder of William Hill stock with a 14.3 percent stake, announced they’ll be opposing any merger with Amaya, iGamingBusiness reported Friday.
“It shouldn’t take more than five minutes of the board’s time to realize this deal doesn’t pass the smell test,” said Parvus Co-founder Mads Eg Gensmann. “We strongly encourage that the board and management stops wasting valuable time and shareholder resources pursuing this value-destroying deal.”
The firm asserts that Amaya’s core business — online poker — is “mature, if not structurally declining.”
With that pessimistic assessment of the online poker landscape as the backdrop, they believe a potential merger would have had …
