The Financial Times has reported that DraftKings was considering a potential takeover of 888 Holdings during the summer. [Image: Shutterstock.com]

Didn’t get over the line

The online gambling sector is always chopping and changing, with news of mergers and acquisitions constantly hitting the headlines. The Financial Times (FT) revealed on Thursday that US giant DraftKings was considering a possible takeover of 888 during the summer.

an investor group that controls about 6.6% of 888 Holdings shares

Early stage talks on an all-stock offer were reportedly held in June and July between DraftKings CEO Jason Robins and FS Gaming Investments, an investor group that controls about 6.6% of 888 Holdings shares and was pushing for internal changes.

Some of the FS Gaming members include former GVC Holdings (now known as Entain) chairman Lee Feldman and ex-GVC CEO Kenneth Alexander. The move ultimately did not come to fruition after DraftKings learned that the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) was investigating the consortium’s investment in 888 over certain historic issues involving GVC in Brazil and Turkey.

An interesting proposition

FT talked to an unnamed source who is a top-ten shareholder in 888 who said that he would have listened to what DraftKings had to say, noting that “888 can help backfill DraftKings with technology and knowhow, and in the long-run DraftKings wants to take over the world.”

he does not believe that the operator is currently for sale

Robins mentioned last week in an interview that the company has kept a close eye on 888 over the years before saying that he does not believe that the operator is currently for sale.

DraftKings has made moves in the past to try to take over mainly overseas-focused competitors, despite currently targeting the North American market. Its £18.4bn ($22.5m) offer in 2021 for Entain did not get much interest from the UK gambling group’s board.

A difficult year for 888

888 has been going through plenty of turbulence over the past year or so. Its former CEO Itai Panzer resigned in January as a result of a probe into its Middle East VIP operations. The company’s chairman searched for someone to take over for about six months before settling on Per Widerström.

This was not before FS Gaming proposed three of its members for top positions in the company, with UKGC probes into some of them ultimately leading to the termination of the discussions.

888 took over the non-US assets of William Hill last year in a deal worth almost £2bn ($2.5m), most of which was financed by debt.

The UKGC also slapped 888 with a record-breaking £19.2m ($23.5m) fine in March regarding anti-money laundering and social responsibility failings at William Hill. 888 shares plummeted on the back of these bad news stories.