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Bought in yesterday. Should easily do 30% + in the next 12 months

Looks like my 8% prediction was a day late 👌

We should see 8% + Monday.

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US investment giant TPG places bet on takeover of William Hill-owner Evoke

One of the world’s biggest investment firms is being lined up to help finance a takeover of Evoke, the London-listed company which owns William Hill.

Sky News has learnt that an arm of TPG, the private equity giant, is in talks to provide hundreds of millions of pounds to help refinance Evoke’s borrowings.

One source said that TPG Credit could commit as much as £800m as part of a deal for Bally’s Intralot to buy Evoke, although they cautioned that the final number could be lower than that.

Evoke issued a €600m bond last year, and has other existing debt, including a revolving credit facility with a syndicate of lenders.

Accessing the financing resources of TPG Credit – which includes the Angelo Gordon credit business acquired by TPG in 2023 – would strongly increase the chances of gaming operator Bally’s Intralot succeeding with a bid for the UK-based company, one analyst said on Sunday.

Bally’s Intralot had been circling Evoke for months before it confirmed last month that it was in formal discussions about a deal.

Evoke, which also owns the online gambling brand 888, is heavily indebted, and has been grappling with the impact of the government’s tax reforms on the gambling sector.

Like rivals including privately owned Betfred, Paddy Power-owner Flutter Entertainment, and Ladbrokes, which is part of Entain, Evoke has warned that hundreds of shops will be permanently shut as a consequence of the changes.

Per Widerström, Evoke’s chief executive, has publicly attacked the tax hikes as “counter-productive and highly damaging”.

The £125m tax hit from changes announced in last November’s Budget by Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, prompted Evoke to abandon its medium-term financial guidance to investors.

Bally’s Intralot, which is publicly traded in Athens, was formed last year from the acquisition of Bally’s International Interactive by Intralot.

After Evoke effectively put itself up for sale some months ago, it was regarded as one of few likely suitors for the whole company.

Evoke has also examined a standalone sale of its highly profitable Italian operations, but had a strong preference for a sale of the whole company.

Bally’s Intralot’s prospective 50p-a-share takeover values Evoke’s equity at just £225m, underlining the weak performance of its stock in recent years.

On Friday, shares in Evoke closed at just 37.9p, implying that the market is sceptical that the takeover will proceed.

A deadline for a firm offer to be tabled by the Greek-based suitor was extended to June 8 with the agreement of the Takeover Panel last week.

“On 20 April 2026, evoke announced that it was in discussions with Bally's Intralot regarding a possible offer for the entire issued and to be issued share capital of the company at a price of 50 pence per share,” it said.

“Constructive discussions are continuing between the

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Not all short bets have come good, however. Funds holding positions this year against Evoke, owner of William Hill and 888, have lost about $3.5mn, according to S3 Partners, after the company — one of the hardest hit by UK tax rises — rebounded more than 50 per cent from its December lows amid reports of takeover talks with gaming operator Bally’s Intralot.

In the US, Barclays’ Montour anticipates a possible “relief rally” for both Flutter and DraftKings, as prediction markets also face rising scrutiny, legal disputes over whether they should be treated as gambling and fears that they could be facilitating a new wave of insider trading.

Ironshield are in the know, and they had a job to do.

Got a horrible feeling we’re going to be waiting another 28 days with a put up or shut up extension.

Wisdom I completely understand your negativity but if you believe the ship is sinking why not jump?

It’s a bloody shame. I got my average down to around 50p . The government really fu#ked us over ! I genuinely believe we could have got 120p before tax increases

Wisdom what’s your average?

“Trading remains in line with expectations”

“No material changes” since the last update

That’s effectively reassurance that this is not due to a negative surprise in the numbers.

Wolf man

Hold or fold? Evoke, the owner of betting shop operator William Hill, is just four months into a strategic review. But shareholders might soon get the chance of a £225mn takeover bid instead, courtesy of lottery and online casino operator Bally’s Intralot. The mooted 50p a share is a big improvement on Evoke’s recent share price, but there’s reason to think it could do better.

The Athens-listed suitor, controlled by US-based Bally’s after it merged its international unit last year with Intralot, says a tie-up with Evoke could involve “massive synergies”. For evidence of this, it points to its profitable operations: its ebitda margin of 33 per cent is almost twice Evoke’s. Evoke shares, which had been trading at around 22p at their nadir last December, rose to 41p by Monday.

Line chart of Evoke share price, pence showing Game face

There’s an air of opportunism on the part of Bally’s Intralot. Evoke, which also owns online games site 888 Casino, began examining its strategic options in December, shortly after the UK government said that remote gaming taxes would from jump to 40 per cent from 21 per cent. That kicked in this month. A separate smaller increase in online sports betting rates starts next year.

Evoke and Bally’s wouldn’t be the only companies in their industry to band together. Industry shifts are producing varying combinations of lottery, casino-type games and sports betting. One hope is that bigger budgets and better-resourced technology platforms will help improve operations in each market, even as operators remain subject to varying local regulations.

If it plays its hand shrewdly, Evoke might even be able to push for more generous terms. At 50p a share, Bally’s Intralot would be paying around £2bn including net debt. Analysts reckon Evoke could make around £240mn of operating profit by 2027, according to LSEG, which after tax suggests a return on investment of roughly 9 per cent.

But that’s without the “massive” cost savings. Assume a deft buyer could slash 20 per cent from Evoke’s sales, general and administrative expenses of around £250mn, it would boost that return to a more generous 12 per cent, giving a buyer wiggle room. Moreover, since so much of Evoke’s enterprise value is debt, only a small increase to the acquisition price could equate to a large increase in what’s on offer to shareholders.

That said, Evoke doesn’t have many other options. The government’s November tax raid came at a particularly poor time. The additional tax hit, estimated by the company to be up to £135mn by next year, is a real blow for a group with forecast ebitda of £350mn and an interest bill that already eats up half of that. Negotiations from here on in may involve poker faces all around.

If it plays its hand shrewdly, Evoke might even be able to push for more generous terms. At 50p a share, Bally’s Intralot would be paying around £2bn including net debt. Analysts reckon Evoke could make around £240mn of operating profit by 2027, according to LSEG, which after tax suggests a return on investment of roughly 9 per cent.

But that’s without the “massive” cost savings. Assume a deft buyer could slash 20 per cent from Evoke’s sales, general and administrative expenses of around £250mn, it would boost that return to a more generous 12 per cent, giving a buyer wiggle room. Moreover, since so much of Evoke’s enterprise value is debt, only a small increase to the acquisition price could equate to a large increase in what’s on offer to shareholders.

88.8p

An American casino operator is closing in on a take-private rescue of the heavily indebted owner of William Hill.

Rhode Island-based Bally’s, known for its front-of-shirt sponsorship of Nottingham Forest Football Club, is in talks to buy Evoke, the former FTSE 250 bookmaker, according to City sources.

Evoke, previously known as 888, is understood to have informally granted Bally’s preferred bidder status and could unveil a rescue deal as early as this week, if terms can be agreed. However, sources cautioned that discussions were finely balanced and there was no certainty of an accord between the two sides.

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Evoke owes lenders about £1.7 billion, compared with a stock market valuation that has collapsed to just £160 million.

The company in effect put itself up for sale in December when it appointed Morgan Stanley and Rothschild to conduct a review of strategic options in an attempt to “maximise shareholder value”.

The American casino operator sponsors Nottingham Forest

GARETH COPLEY/GETTY IMAGES

Its recent financial difficulties date back to the £2.2 billion acquisition of the non-US operations of William Hill in 2021. 888 Holdings, as Evoke was at the time before a rebranding, pipped private equity firm Apollo to acquire one of the UK’s best-known betting brands; the William Hill name dates back to 1934.

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The 888 deal was funded by taking out substantial loans that have weighed on the wider group since.

Evoke was already struggling before the UK government’s decision to hike betting taxes in last November’s budget, after coming under pressure from former prime minister Gordon Brown to significantly increase industry levies.

From the start of April, remote gaming duty, applied to online casino and bingo games, increased from 21 to 40 per cent. The rate of tax levied on online sports increased from 15 to 25 per cent, with the exception of horseracing.

Led by Per Widerström, who was managed by former England manager Roy Hodgson during his previous career as a professional footballer in Sweden, Evoke said the changes would cost between £125 million and £135 million annually.

The bookmaker confirmed earlier this month that it would close 200 William Hill shops, starting in May. Some 240 of William Hill’s roughly 1,200 sites have been earmarked for the chop, industry sources said.

Bally’s hotel and casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey

Alamy

Fred Done, Britain’s biggest taxpayer, according to The Sunday Times Tax List, is believed to have bowed out of the running, alongside a clutch of other suitors for Evoke.

In October 2021, Bally’s acquired another former FTSE 250 firm, Gamesys, the operator of Virgin Games and Jackpotjoy, for $2.7 billion (£2 billion).

Bally’s was founded in 2004 as BLB Investors — a joint venture between Starwo

Given the drop of oil prices we should be up a couple of percentage today

Should be up a couple of %. today .

Hedging Coverage Breakdown for British Airways

IAG reports 75% fuel hedged for Q1 2026, dropping to 64% in Q2, 58% in Q3, and 50% in Q4. This graduated protection buys time as oil volatility persists.

Compare to peers: Lufthansa at 82% for Q1, easyJet at 84% for H1. British Airways ranks well among majors. Low-cost rivals like Ryanair claim 'mostly hedged' status.

US airlines lag: American, United, JetBlue have minimal hedges. Delta relies on refinery ownership. British Airways' approach offers European edge.

Couldn’t agree with you more CJ39

Maybe we’re going to hear some good news over the weekend 👍