Amaya and William Hill confirmed that they are discussing an all-share merger of equals.
Amaya and William Hill confirmed that they are discussing an all-share merger of equals.

The latest news from Reuters is that there is a merger planned between two giants, Canadian Amaya and British William Hill. The two companies are, reportedly, considering a merger of equals, which would create a giant in the online gaming market. According to the joint press release, both companies would venture in this merger in accordance with their strategic goals, thus creating an international leader in the industry.

Amaya is the name now associated with PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker after the acquisition in 2014. This made Amaya one of the largest online gaming companies and now according to Reuters there are many prospective buyers interested in acquiring it.

Actually, it was probably caused by the fact that Amaya’s former CEO, David Baazov has announced his intentions of bidding for the company privately in February this year. However, he failed to realize this officially, so there was no formal offer from him, but it left Amaya open for other suitors.

As for William Hill they have also been struggling with acquisitions and biddings in the last couple of years. Actually, last year they have made a bidding attempt at 888 with the offer of 210p a share, but it failed to go through with 888’s shareholders. The plot thickened this year when 888 partnered up with The Rank Group to return the favour, that is launch the takeover bid for William Hill. However, this attempt failed too. Reportedly, their bidding attempt was abandoned due to the press leak.

The merger with Amaya would mean a stronger position for William Hill that predominantly offer sports betting. Considering the fact that they run an online poker room iPoker, the merger with the owner of PokerStars would reaffirm their position on the market.

About Amaya Gaming

Amaya is the biggest publicly listed company in the world thanks to their acquisition of PokerStars and Full Tilt in 2014. They are based in Canada and have offices in Europe, Asia and the USA. Amaya Gaming develops gaming content and services for online casinos, land-based casinos, mobile gaming, etc.

About William Hill

William Hill is a synonym for sports betting, as they stand for one of the most reliable and most trusted bookmakers. The company was founded in 1934 and they went online in 1998. Their online casino offer also includes live casino games through their William Hill Live Casino powered by Evolution Gaming.