Bally’s Intralot CEO sees evoke as a ‘compelling opportunity to bring operating model to a significantly larger business’
Diversification comes as a byproduct of being very efficient in the best-regulated market in the world
Following confirmation that Bally’s Intralot is in talks to be UK gambling operator evoke, who owns William Hill, for £225m, Bally’s Intralot CEO and Director Robeson Reeves has added some detail to what he believes the deal would bring to the company.
Evoke has until May 18 to confirm its position with no certainty that an offer will be made.
Reeves said: “We have built a business with a margin profile that stands out in this industry. Evoke has the scale. We see a compelling opportunity to bring our operating model to a significantly larger business and the potential to transform its financial performance through synergies we are uniquely positioned to deliver. This is an opportunity we’re pursuing with conviction. I’m not going to go further than the announcement. That’s what the process requires, and I will not deviate from it.
“We’re working very hard with our financing providers and advisers to agree the best possible financing structure that fully protects our perimeter. These discussions are happening live. And until we conclude the details, we cannot say more. We’re fully aware of the landscape. The strategic context for M&A has strengthened since our last call. The remote gaming duty change has created a more differentiated competitive landscape. Operators with thin margins and limited scale are under real pressure. I have said on previous calls that we’re actively evaluating opportunities and that we will not miss a genuinely compelling one.”
“The strategic rationale for why a business like ours would look at a business like Evoke is not difficult to follow. Beyond Evoke, we continue to monitor the broader M&A landscape. Our criteria have not changed, regulated markets, strong brand positions, accretive economics and logical operational fit.
“Evoke is an interesting business with a large presence in the UK online, the high street bookmakers and their international business. What’s excellent is the mix that you see in these companies. We understand the UK exceptionally well. We don’t necessarily understand some of these other markets as well as I would like. So we’re fortunate that you can look at M&A with a single lens on actually essentially applying your business model just to the UK market. You can pick up other territories for free. So you almost end up with diversification coming as a byproduct of being very efficient in what I consider the best-regulated market in the world because it’s got wonderful barriers, wonderful frictions, but we’re very good at navigating that.
“With respect to retail, over time, due to things such as FOBT stake limits and COVID, the actual number of bookmakers on the high street has massively reduced over time. I think it’s important to have a presence in retail. I think it’s a good business. It needs to work very much hand-in-hand with online. You need to make sure that your customers, if possible, can be fluid between both online and retail.”
