(Adds premium, CEO quote, details from statement, background)
Sept 28 (Reuters) - Casino operator Caesars is in
advanced talks with William Hill on a takeover offer
that values the British bookmaker at 2.9 billion pounds and
would give it full control of their U.S. sports-betting and
online gaming joint venture.
In a joint statement on Monday, the two companies said that
Caesars was considering offering 272 pence per share for William
Hill and that the board of the UK company was minded to
recommend such an offer to shareholders.
However, the bid follows a surge in William Hill shares on
Friday to more than 312 pence per share after the company said
it had received offers from both Caesars and buyout group Apollo
, suggesting that a bidding war was in the offing.
"The opportunity to combine our land based-casinos, sports
betting and online gaming in the US is a truly exciting
prospect," Caesars Chief Executive Officer Tom Reeg said.
"William Hill's sports betting expertise will complement
Caesars' current offering."
Caesars and William Hill also have an existing joint venture
in the United States and Caesars said that it would be able to
exercise its right to terminate the U.S. deal if Apollo bought
out the British company.
($1 = 0.7832 pounds)
(Reporting by Tanishaa Nadkar in Bengaluru; Editing by
Ramakrishnan M. and Patrick Graham)
