Supplier News
Australia – William Hill makes Australia its second home
By Phil - 13 August 2013
William Hill has agreed to buy Australian bookmaker Tom Waterhouse for A$34m, together with the assumption of up to A$6m of balance sheet liabilities, as it looks to make Australia its second home.
The deal follows William Hill’s purchase of Sportingbet PLC’s Australian business in March 2013 for around A$670m with the British bookmaker describing both deals as emphasising its ‘strategy of selective international expansion,’ with Australia forming its ‘second home market.’
William Hill is the world’s largest listed betting company by market capitalisation, worth approximately A$6.5bn. It has been listed on the London Stock Exchange since 2002 and became part of the FTSE100 group of leading UK listed companies in May 2013.
The acquisition increases William Hill’s scale in Australia, delivering exclusive access to key media and a business with significant growth momentum. tomwaterhouse.com benefits from access to William Hill Australia’s operations and trading systems, including the proprietary technology platform developed by Sportingbet for the Australian market, and its broader product range. tomwaterhouse.com becomes part of William Hill Australia alongside Sportingbet and Centrebet, led by Michael Sullivan as CEO of William Hill Australia. Tom Waterhouse remains as managing director of tomwaterhouse.com, recognising the importance of local management in helping William Hill to gain a leadership position in its second home market.
Ralph Topping, Chief Executive of William Hill, said: “We are delighted to have secured this acquisition. International expansion is a key part of William Hill’s growth strategy and making Australia our second home is our priority. The Sportingbet acquisition gave us a strong and proven platform with an experienced management team. Acquiring tomwaterhouse.com gives us a rapidly growing business that appeals to a wider customer base.
“I’m impressed by Tom Waterhouse and his team, who are passionate and entrepreneurial,” he added. “They’ve built a good business in a short period of time and have achieved strong growth momentum. This deal brings them real benefits around scale, product and technology. I’m sure my lifetime of experience in bookmaking and Michael Sullivan’s – together amounting to more than 70 years – will also be valuable to Tom. What we all share is a vision of making William Hill Australia the number one online bookmaker in Australia by bringing customers the very best online and mobile betting experience.”
