Bally’s Intralot’s planned all-share acquisition of evoke plc has cleared a major hurdle after shareholders on both sides of the deal voted in favour.
Bally’s Intralot shareholders approved a board authorisation to increase the company’s share capital by up to €135 million through the issue of up to 450 million new shares.
The vote took place at an Extraordinary General Meeting held on September 18, 2026, with results published the same day under Greek corporate disclosure law.
A total of 102 shareholders attended the meeting, representing 1,361,379,872 common registered shares out of a total 1,867,802,694, equating to 72.89% of the share capital.
Evoke shareholders had already delivered their own verdict in August, backing the deal with a commanding 99.63% of the general meeting vote on August 18, 2026.
With approval now secured from both sets of shareholders, the transaction only requires a handful of additional regulatory clearances before it can formally complete.
A court sanction hearing, where a judge will deliver the final green light for the scheme of arrangement, is scheduled for either Q4 2026 or Q1 2027.
That timeline puts Bally’s Intralot on course to complete the acquisition of LSE-listed evoke within that same window, assuming other approvals fall into place as expected.
Once the deal closes, evoke will delist from the London Stock Exchange, ending its run as a publicly traded company on that market.
The business was once a constituent of the FTSE 250 before being downgraded in late 2023, when it still traded under the 888 Holdings name ahead of its 2024 rebrand as evoke.
It currently sits within the FTSE SmallCap and FTSE All-Share indices, a reflection of the significant challenges the company has faced in recent years.
Evoke initiated a strategic review of its business in December 2025 after the UK government announced sharp increases in remote gaming duty in November 2025.
That review ultimately led to Bally’s Intralot agreeing the recommended all-share acquisition on June 5, 2026, setting the wheels of the current deal in motion.
The combined group would bring together well-known brands including William Hill, 888, and Mr Green under the Bally’s Intralot umbrella.
Debt levels at both companies have drawn considerable attention throughout the process, with evoke reporting £1.89 billion in debt for H1 2026 and Bally’s Intralot declaring over €1.6 billion in net debt for the same period.
