William Hill to Team Up With Playtech

Betting giant William Hill is giving its online sports betting, casino and poker business a huge shot in the arm by buying out parts of casino, poker and bingo software giant Playtech.

CEO Ralph Topping, a William Hill employee for over thirty years, called the deal "transformative'' and commented that it will transform William Hill into the biggest European destination for online sports betting and gambling.

William Hill will give Playtech a 29% share in the Wiliam Hill Online business, in exchange for the assets. The online division will be managed as a separate company under the William Hill umbrella.

William Hill has an option to buy out Playtech's share 4 or 6 years down the line at market rates.

William Hill´s shares headed north to the tune of 14%.

William Hill expects to make reveunues of £190 million and an EBIT of £75m in 2008.

In an email to its partners, Henry Birch , the CEO of William Hill online, extended a warm welcome to "Europe’s Leading Online Gaming and Sports Betting Group" and explained the detail on one of the largest mergers in online gaming and sports betting history. The affiliate programs of William Hill, Cpays, & Webroute Affiliates will be merged together to form one of the largest affiliate networks in the world. The transformation starts in 2009 and should be fully set up by the end of that year.

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