Bally’s Intralot has locked in a major debt facility to accelerate its acquisition ambitions, with the Evoke Plc takeover firmly in its sights.
The company notified the Euronext Athens exchange that it had secured a senior secured sterling term facilities agreement worth £261.7m with institutional lenders.
The loan will be deployed for what Bally’s Intralot describes as “general corporate and working capital purposes”, covering acquisition plans and refinancing of “other indebtedness”.
Markets were told that “the new term financing will be drawn in two term loan tranches with a tenor of three years and is guaranteed and secured on a senior basis by members of the Bally’s Intralot Group in line with the Group’s existing senior secured financing arrangements”.
Proceeds from the debt agreement will primarily fund the acquisition of Evoke Plc and its related assets, a deal agreed on 4 June at a transactional value of £243m, equivalent to €250m.
The move adds further financial weight to a company already carrying substantial debt, with total borrowings of €1.75bn and adjusted net debt of €1.49bn recorded as of 31 March 2026.
Much of that existing debt traces back to Bally’s Intralot’s formation in July last year, when Greek lottery technology firm Intralot acquired the Bally’s International Interactive division from US giant Bally’s Corporation.
To fund that initial merger, Intralot secured a £400m six-year term loan from institutional lenders alongside a £200m four-year amortising loan from Greek banks, both of which contributed significantly to the group’s current debt load.
Debt levels were also a central talking point when Bally’s Intralot made a firm bid of 52p per Evoke share on 5 June, valuing the LSE-listed owner of William Hill, Mr Green and the 888 brands at £243.1m.
As part of deal negotiations, Bally’s Intralot secured a private credit line of £900m, backed by TPG Credit, Oaktree Capital Management and Oak Hill Advisors, with funds earmarked to support the technical integration of Evoke’s primary brands.
Leadership has outlined plans to secure phase one synergies across William Hill, 888 and Mr Green as a priority following completion of the deal.
Evoke Plc shareholders are scheduled to vote on the proposed acquisition on 17 August 2026, with final regulatory approvals still required before the transaction is completed.
Should the deal receive the green light, Evoke will notify the London Stock Exchange of its corporate delisting, leaving just three listed gambling companies on the exchange: Entain, Playtech and Rank Group Plc.
Bally’s Intralot’s expanded portfolio will span brands including William Hill, 888, Mr Green, Gamesys, JackpotJoy, Botemania and Intralot lottery, positioning the group among the top 20 highest valued PLCs listed on the Athens ATHEX.
Once the Evoke acquisition is finalised, Bally’s Intralot will enter a new debt repayment arrangement with bondholders to manage a combined debt pile of approximately €2.8bn.
