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SPORTS BETTING

UK – 888 completes William Hill acquisition

By - 1 July 2022

888 Holdings has completed the acquisition of the international (non-US) business of William Hill from Caesars Entertainment.

Lord Mendelsohn, Chair of 888, commented on the completion of the acquisition: “This combination brings together two high quality businesses to create a powerful, global betting and gaming business. We believe the acquisition will create significant value for shareholders, creating a combined business with leading technology, products and brands across sports betting and gaming. With a top quality management team, formed from talent from across both businesses, I am confident about our future plans.”

The executive leadership team for the Group is made up of the following members:

  • Chief Executive Officer: Itai Pazner, appointed as CEO of 888 in January 2019, having previously held the positions of COO and SVP of 888’s B2C division.
  • Chief Financial Officer: Yariv Dafna, appointed as CFO of 888 in November 2020, having previously held a range of senior roles at Telit Communications.
  • Chief Strategy Officer: Vaughan Lewis, appointed as CSO of 888 in April 2021, having previously held a range of senior roles at Flutter Entertainment, The Stars Group and Sky Betting & Gaming
  • Chief Operating Officer: Guy Cohen, who has been interim COO of 888, having previously been responsible for 888’s B2C business
  • Chief Risk Officer: Harinder Gill, who is newly appointed and will take up his role from 3 August, and was formerly the Group Head of Regulatory Compliance at Revolut
  • Chief People Officer: Mark Skinner, who was appointed Chief People Officer of William Hill in 2021, having previously held senior HR roles at William Hill and RSA Insurance
  • Chief Product and Technology Officer: Satty Bhens, who was appointed as CPTO of William Hill in 2019, having previously been a Partner at McKinsey & Company
  • Chief Transformation Officer: Naama Kushnir, who previously held the role of COO at 888
  • Managing Director UK: Phil Walker, who was appointed as UK MD in 2020, having previously been online managing director, following a series of senior roles at Gala Coral and Ladbrokes Coral

As part of the organisational changes, Ulrik Bengtsson and Eric Hageman, former CEO and CFO of William Hill will be leaving the Group following completion.

Itai Pazner, CEO of 888, commented on the completion of the Acquisition: “I am delighted to announce the completion of our transformational combination with William Hill. We have built an outstanding leadership team, combining strengths from across both businesses, and as I look at the future, the combination of our product and content leadership, powered by our proprietary technology, and our world class brands, gives us a powerful platform for growth. I’d like to thank Ulrik and Eric for the great job they have done at William Hill and I wish them well for the future.”

Any future organisational changes will be managed with the primary objective of maintaining momentum within each business, and maximising the benefits of this complementary combination as the Group looks to achieve the potential revenue and cost benefits of integration, with anticipated pre-tax cost synergies of at least £100 million to be fully delivered by 2025.

Upon completion, the Group will initially report results in four segments:

  1. 888, including the US
  2. William Hill Online UK
  3. William Hill Retail (UK)
  4. William Hill International

888 currently intends to report its interim results in August 2022, and will begin to report financial results in Pounds Sterling from this point.

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