Gambling tie-up talks confirmed by deal trio

Shares in William Hill jumped yesterday after Rank Group and 888 confirmed that a £3 billion three-way merger could be on the cards.

City analysts welcomed the possible tie-up which online operator 888 and casino group Rank said offered major benefits to investors. In a joint statement the groups said: “The consortium sees significant industrial logic in the combination, through consolidation of their complementary online and land-based operations, delivery of substantial revenue and cost synergies and from the anticipated benefits of economies of scale which will accrue to all shareholders.”

William Hill – whose chief executive James Henderson stepped down last week – said itwouldconsideranyproposal but added that it was not clear that a combination would benefit the business. Shares in William Hill closed up 15.2p at 328.8p, in 888 they finished 7.5p higher at 229p, but Rank dipped 1.2p to 235.9p.