William Hill to buy Maltabased Mr Green for €271m

October 31 may be considered as scary for some, what with it being Halloween, but for William Hill, it was a day full of surprises.

William Hill announced on Halloween that it had put in a cash offer for Mr Green & Co, the online casino site which currently has gambling licenses in UK, Denmark, Italy, Latvia, Ireland and Malta, but it also expects to have a Swedish license by the begin of 2019.

Commenting on the Transaction, Philip Bowcock, William Hill PLC Chief Executive Officer, said: "This proposed acquisition accelerates the diversification of William Hill - immediately making us a more digital and more international business.

"MRG will provide William Hill with an international hub in Malta with market entry expertise and strong growth momentum in a number of European countries.

"William Hill will move from a single brand to a suite of brands that can maximise growth opportunities moving forward in new and existing markets."

MRG (Mr Green & Co) is a fast-growing, innovative iGaming group with operations in 13 markets and brands including Mr Green and Redbet.

MRG holds remote gambling licences in Denmark, Italy, Latvia, Malta, Great Britain and Ireland, and expect to obtain licences in Sweden by year end.

MRG has leading gaming and casino products supported by a fast-growing sportsbook.

The combination of William Hill and Mr Green will create a strongly positioned combined business with an expanded pan-European footprint in faster growing online betting and gaming markets, further supported by the existing William Hill Online and Retail businesses in the UK and the US.

According to the press release, Ulrik Bengtsson, William Hill’s Chief Digital Officer, will be responsible for leading the integration of Mr Green within the gambling group and has a strong background in working with Nordic online gaming businesses through his time at Betsson – which will be beneficial in moving forward with the brand.

MRG has a number of core attributes that will enhance the William Hill business and strategy:

• International growth: MRG’s existing international hub in Malta combined with operational expertise in establishing a presence in new markets will increase William Hill Online’s international footprint and growth potential; • Improvement to William Hill revenue mix: MRG's online-only business will increase the Group's share of online and international revenue and profits, and reduce William Hill’s exposure to the UK market. Based on HY2018, the Transaction increases the Group’s overall online revenues from 42% to c.47% (ex-WHUS) with the proportion of international revenues increasing from c.14% to c.21%. Based on Q3 2018 results, MRG’s geographic revenue mix was 40% in Western Europe, 36% in the Nordics, 21% in Central, Eastern and Southern Europe and 3% in other regions;

• Brand: MRG’s primary brands, Mr Green and Redbet, have demonstrated strength and are complementary to the William Hill brand and enable the Group to pursue a multi-brand strategy in territories where it is strategically beneficial to do so; • High growth potential: MRG has historically delivered strong revenue growth across all the regions in which it operates (FY15-17: 23% CAGR), underpinned by resilient organic growth.

• Recent trading has continued to be robust with MRG revenue growth of 51% in Q3 2018 vs Q3 2017 and 2018 YTD revenue growth of 44% versus the same period in 2017. The addition of an international hub in Malta and MRG’s operational expertise will further strengthen William Hill’s growth potential; and

• Leadership in sustainability: Strong fit between MRG’s leadership position on sustainability and William Hill’s Nobody Harmed.