* 888 to buy William Hill's non-U.S. business from Caesars
* Expects savings of at least 100 mln stg/year from the deal
* Deal classed as reverse takeover as per UK's listing rules
(Adds CEO comments, updates shares)
By Muvija M and Chris Peters
Sept 9 (Reuters) - 888 will buy William Hill's
business outside the United States from casino group Caesars
for 2.2 billion pounds ($3 billion), making a foray on
to Britain's high streets with 1,400 betting shops.
The purchase, 888's largest since listing in London nearly
two decades ago, will also give the company access to William
Hill's 2 million active UK customers when pandemic curbs have
spurred record online gambling volumes.
888 has until now been a pure online player, whereas William
Hill's shops have long been a feature of British streets.
888 CEO Itai Pazner played down speculation that the company
might seek to offload the retail stores to maintain its online
focus.
"Our plans are absolutely to keep the shops. The shops are
run well, they are profitable, they went through a big
transformation in the last couple of years," Pazner told Reuters
on Thursday.
Caesars' 2.9 billion pound takeover of William Hill in April
was part of a wider consolidation, which saw several U.S.
companies snap up London-listed groups to gain expertise as the
United States opens up to sports betting.
Caesars had signalled it did not want to hold on to other
parts of the group.
"We have found an owner for the William Hill business
outside the U.S. which shares the same objectives, approaches
and longer-term ambitions of that business," Caesars CEO Tom
Reeg said.
COST SAVINGS
Pazner said the deal, classed as a reverse takeover under
UK's listing rules because of the relative sizes of the
businesses, would allow 888 to be more competitive and take
market share in many of the core markets it operates in.
Besides the UK, William Hill, founded in 1934, also has
operations in Spain, Italy and the Nordics.
888, known for its online gaming, casino and poker, expects
cost savings of at least 100 million pounds per year from the
deal, which has the support of its largest shareholder, the
Dalia Shaked Trust. The trust owns 23% of 888.
888 hopes to tap investors for 500 million pounds through a
share sale "at an appropriate time", which weighed on its stock
price in early trading.
The Times reported earlier this week that 888 had outbid
Apollo for the William Hill assets.
888's shares, which have gained 40% this year, were down
1.4% by 0842 GMT, underperforming the wider index's 0.5% fall.
888, with a market value of 1.5 billion pounds, said it has
secured 2.1 billion pounds in debt financing from banks to fund
the deal, which included 0.7 billion pounds relating to William
Hill bonds.
($1 = 0.7261 pounds)
(Reporting by Muvija M and Chris Peters in Bengaluru; Editing
by Shounak Dasgupta, Jane Merriman and Keith Weir)
