Bally’s Intralot has agreed terms on a £243.1m acquisition of evoke, the parent company of William Hill and 888, in an all-share deal.
Under the agreement, evoke shareholders will receive 0.537 new Intralot shares for each evoke share held, with a cash alternative of 52p per share available subject to a £117.1m cap.
The offer represents a 138% premium to evoke’s closing share price on 9 December 2025, the day before evoke announced a strategic review amid concerns over rising UK gambling duties.
It also represents a 77% premium to evoke’s volume-weighted average share price of 29.4 pence in the three-month period to 17 April 2026, the last business day before initial talks were confirmed.
Assuming no shareholders elect for the cash alternative, existing evoke shareholders will own approximately 11.5% of the enlarged group following completion.
Evoke chairman Mark Summerfield described the terms as the “most attractive and deliverable” outcome for shareholders, with the deal arriving just over five months after the strategic review launched in December 2025.
Summerfield said: “The combination will create one of the world’s leading online betting and gaming groups with superior scale, exceptional brands, increased diversification, and a platform for strong growth through enhanced capabilities.”
He added that he was “confident Intralot will be a strong and supportive owner of the business,” and that the deal offers the “best route to deliver long-term value” for shareholders and broader stakeholders.
Bally’s chairman Soo Kim described the transaction as creating a “diversified European gaming champion” with “greater scale, resilience and operational capability,” expressing strong confidence in the combined group’s prospects.
Kim said: “Underpinned by the combination of evoke’s iconic brands of incredible heritage, with Intralot’s best-in-class technology and data capabilities, highly executable synergies and the ability to invest our substantial free cash flow in growth markets – we are confident that the enlarged group will not just be stronger than before, but stronger than ever.”
The deal has already secured backing from 888 co-founder Avi Shaked and the Shaked family, who control 19.16% of evoke’s total shares, alongside Artemis Investment Management, which owns 9.91%.
Combined, those commitments represent approximately 29.1% of evoke’s issued share capital, giving the transaction a significant early base of shareholder support heading into the formal approval process.
Bally’s Intralot submitted five separate proposals during the strategic review process, with its initial January approach valuing evoke at just 32p per share before the board rejected that figure as inadequate.
Following further discussions and due diligence, the offer rose to 52p per share, a 63% increase on the original proposal, demonstrating Bally’s Intralot’s determination to secure the business in its entirety.
The enlarged group is expected to generate pro-forma FY25 revenue of €3.2bn and adjusted EBITDA of €856m, giving it considerable scale across online gaming, sports betting and lottery operations.
Bally’s Intralot identified around £180m in pre-tax cost and capital expenditure synergies, expected to be realised by the end of the second year after completion through marketing optimisation, operational efficiencies and IT infrastructure consolidation.
A financing package of €889m backed by private lenders including TPG Credit, Oaktree and OHA will help refinance evoke’s debt due in 2028, addressing one of the key concerns hanging over the transaction.
Following completion, total leverage is expected to fall from 5.2x EBITDA to 4.6x on a pro-forma basis, while senior secured leverage would reduce more dramatically from 5.0x to 2.2x.
In the UK specifically, the enlarged group is set to rank as the second-largest iGaming operator and fourth-largest online sports betting business by gross gaming revenue, according to the acquisition document.
The transaction remains subject to shareholder approvals and regulatory clearances across multiple jurisdictions, including the UK, Gibraltar, Italy, Malta and several US states, with completion expected in Q4 2026 or Q1 2027.
