Sportingbet Reject Initial William Hill Offer
Sportingbet Plc has said that a £350 million offer from William Hill and GVC Holdings significantly undervalues it but is open to receiving a higher bid.
Sportingbet Plc has said that a £350 million offer from William Hill and GVC Holdings significantly undervalues it but is open to receiving a higher bid
Last week Sportingbet said that it has received a takeover approach at 52.5p per share, consisting of 45p in cash from William Hill and 7.5p in shares in online betting firm GVC.
In a statement Sportingbet said that its board “has responded that this indicative offer significantly undervalues the business and its future prospects.”
However, there was no complete rejection of the offer and analysts are expecting the bidders to come back with a higher offer.
Panmure Gordon analysts have said that Sportingbet is worth more than 60p per share, excluding any bid speculation, and that they expect the full year results to show that the business is making strong progress.
It is expected that Sportingbet will forecast pre-tax profits of about £30 million.
Before the approach was announced shares had risen from 26p in May to 44p in September. Under UK takeover rules, William Hill has until October 16th to make a firm bid or walk away. So far there has been no further comment from either Sportingbet or William Hill.
