Caesars Entertainment is buying British bookmaker William Hill for $3.7B in a deal "aimed at binding its casinos ever closer to the fast-growing legal sports betting industry in the U.S.," according to Wayne Parry of the AP. Caesars said that it is "interested in the company's U.S. assets and indicated it would seek to sell off William Hill's assets in the United Kingdom and other countries." Private equity firm Apollo Global Management also had been "interested in acquiring William Hill." William Hill's prospects "darkened after 2018 when the British government sharply limited the amount that it and other bookmakers could charge on betting terminals," so the company "turned its attention to the U.S., where legal sports betting was in its infancy" (AP, 9/30). BLOOMBERG NEWS' Thomas Seal wrote from William Hill's perspective, a deal with Caesars "may have been all but inevitable: the companies already operate a joint venture in the U.S., and Caesars said Monday it could terminate aspects of it if Apollo's approach prevailed" (BLOOMBERG NEWS, 9/30).
OPPORTUNITY KNOCKS: Caesars Entertainment CEO Tom Reeg appeared on CNBC this morning to discuss the company’s attempt to acquire William Hill, noting “there’s always risk in an M&A transaction (and) in this case what we need is approval on the William Hill side and of course, normal regulatory approvals.” Reeg: “What this allows us to do is work toward a single wallet solution where we tie online sports betting, online casino and online poker to a single wallet and to our Caesars Rewards database and also to our partnerships with ESPN and CBS" (“Squawk on the Street,” CNBC, 10/1).
CHANGING THE LANDSCAPE: CNBC’s Jim Cramer said the regular TV networks are "still reluctant" to talk about sports betting lines, and they are "certainly reluctant to talk about fantasy football." Cramer said DraftKings and Penn National have "overridden them and I think that one day we will watch a game with” a DraftKings and Penn National app, and “they will have better coverage so I think the networks have to be a little more careful.” Cramer: “The fantasy world and the betting world is so huge that it would be very optimal for the networks to focus on it and be much more aware of fantasy points, be much more aware of the line, be much more aware of who is going to score the first down. These are all things that are bet on and it’s a way to be able to keep younger people involved. That's what they want” (“Squawk Box,” CNBC, 10/1).
