William Hill: Caesars Palace-owner in 'advanced' talks over ₤ 2.9 bn bet9ja's welcome offer

Caesars Entertainment, the Las Vegas casino-owner, states it is in innovative takeover talks with William Hill over a possible ₤ 2.9 bn quote for the bookie.

The US company stated William Hill's board had indicated it is minded to recommend its cash offer of 272p a share.

William Hill has likewise gotten a takeover method from US personal equity firm Apollo.

But Caesars stated if William Hill chose Apollo, it would jeopardise a joint venture in between the business.

Caesars chief executive Tom Reeg said: "The chance to combine our land based-casinos, sports betting and online gaming in the US is a genuinely exciting prospect.

"William Hill's sports betting know-how will complement Caesars' current offering, allowing the combined group to much better serve our consumers in the fast growing US sports wagering and online market."

On Friday, William Hill confirmed that it had received 2 takeover techniques, which sent its share cost soaring by 42% to 312p.

Caesars said its offer was almost 58% higher than William Hill's share price on the day before the US company made its very first technique on 2 September.

It included it was also above the betting company's share rate on Thursday last week, before its disclosure of the 2 methods caused its share price to surge.

But David Cumming, chief investment officer for equities at Aviva Investors, said offers for William Hill might overtake the 312p level its shares ended at on Friday.

He informed the BBC's Today programme: "The view is - and we do hold some William Hill so it [has] some interest here - the 40% rise on Friday, offered comparative valuations in the US, it is possible that the quote can be found in at a greater level than the closing price we saw then so there still might be some benefit."

Apollo - which is likewise one of 2 firms in the last going to buy UK supermarket Asda - is yet to publish details of its possible deal for William Hill.

However, Mr Cumming stated he believed Caesars was the most likely victor "since it currently owns 20% of William Hill's US organization and so it need to have some synergies".