Stephen Sylvanie / Special to the Sun
A sports bettor takes down some notes in the William Hill Race & Sports Book at the Plaza Hotel after its grand opening on March 19, 2013. William Hill and Amaya have abandoned merger talks.
Tuesday, Oct. 18, 2016 | 9:31 a.m.
A potential merger of an English bookmaker William Hill with Canadian online poker company Amaya has been called off.
“After canvassing views from a number of William Hill's major shareholders, the board has decided that it will not pursue discussions with Amaya,” William Hill posted on its website Tuesday. “Accordingly, the board has informed Amaya that it is withdrawing from discussions and wishes Amaya well for the future.”
Separately, in a statement on its own website, Amaya also said the deal was dead.
“Together with our financial advisers, we evaluated a wide range of strategic alternatives to maximize shareholder value and have concluded that remaining an independent company is in the best interest of Amaya’s shareholders at this time.”
On Oct. 8, William Hill, which operates online around the world and manages brick-and-mortar sports books in the U.K. and Nevada, said it was discussing a merger with Amaya, an online poker and gaming company that owns PokerStars and other online poker properties.
However, according to a Bloomberg report on Tuesday about the deal’s demise, Parvus Asset Management, an activist investor in the U.K., opposed the union.
Bloomberg quoted Parvus co-founder Mads Gensmann as saying he was “clearly pleased” that the merger had been canceled.
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