The majority of eligible shareholders in William Hill, 888 and Mr Green owner evoke have agreed to a buyout by Bally’s Intralot.
Both firms confirmed they were in talks of a potential acquisition in April, with the total bid price of £243.1m subsequently unveiled in June, alongside the terms and conditions of a recommended all-share acquisition by Intralot being agreed.
On 17 August, evoke announced the results of its General Meeting, where 99.63% of evoke shares voted in favor of the acquisition.
The Court Meeting was also held today, with 30 of the Scheme Shareholders voting for, and only one voting against Intralot’s full takeover of evoke.
Looking ahead, both firms reported that a number of antitrust and regulatory approvals have now been satisfied, and they expect the Court hearing to sanction the acquisition in either Q4 2026 or the first quarter of 2027.
The announcement from evoke comes on the same day as Bally’s reporting improved quarterly revenue year-over-year, going up from $658m to $792m (£584m) – a 20.5% increase.
Adjusted EBITDAR in the second quarter was expectedly affected by the Remote Gaming Duty increase in the UK from 21% to 40%, but Chief Executive Officer Robeson Reeves assured shareholders that the evoke acquisition represents a ‘clear pathway towards growth’.
“The gross negative impact of the UK gaming tax change on our B2C segment EBITDAR was approximately $39m in the quarter,” he said.
“We remain firmly on track against the margin management commitments we previously disclosed to investors. It is worth flagging that market consolidation in the UK has not moved quite as quickly as we originally expected.
“We see that as an opportunity still ahead of us rather than a concern, particularly as smaller operators come under increasing pressure post-World Cup and through the fall tax season.
“We are already delivering double-digit growth ahead of that consolidation, which gives us confidence in our position.”
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