Will Hill-GVC recommend Sportingbet revision
News on 5 Dec 2012
News on 5 Dec 2012
William Hill and GVC Holdings have reached a conditional agreement with Sportingbet regarding a revised proposal (RP) it announced today (Tuesday).
The RP sets out a Sportingbet share valuation of 56.1 pence each along with the previously communicated proposed final dividend of 1.1 pence/share based on the closing middle-market GVC share price of 233.5 pence on October 15, 2012.
The RP represents a 5 pence per share cut from its previous offer on the back of Sportingbet’s disappointing first-quarter report that showed a 35 percent drop in revenue.
The latest offer on the table comprises 44.8 pence in cash, 1.1 pence dividend in cash and 0.0435 new GVC shares per Sportingbet share implying a fully diluted equity valuation for Sportingbet of around GBP 485 million, less than the GBP 530 million previously offered.
The RP suggests a ‘mix and match’ facility where Sportingbet shareholders would have the opportunity to apply to receive proportionately more cash or more GVC shares.
Major Sportingbet shareholders that include DBS Advisors Ltd., Mark Blandford, Rockridge Investments SA and various Blandford family trusts, and Henderson Global Investors Ltd., who in aggregate hold 74,664,168 Sportingbet shares representing approximately 11.2 percent, have indicated their support of the RP and stating that their current intention would be to elect to receive the maximum amount of new GVC shares available under the mix and match facility.
Sportingbet’s Board has confirmed to William Hill and GVC that if an offer based on the terms of the RP were made, it would expect to unanimously recommend the deal to Sportingbet shareholders.
The deadline to either announce a firm intention to make an offer for Sportinget or walk away will be extended to December 18, 2012 at 17h00.
William Hill and GVC have said they remain committed to working exclusively with each other in relation to any possible offer for Sportingbet.
The revised proposal represents William Hill and GVC’s final proposal for Sportingbet unless another third party announces its intention to make an offer for the Company.
