When 888 Holdings and Rank Group withdrew their joint “ménage à trois” bid for William Hill, there was speculation that the two disappointed suitors might themselves pursue a simpler two-way marriage. No longer. Itai Frieberger, chief executive of 888, declared yesterday that such a deal was “off the agenda”.
Not that being swatted away by William Hill has soured him or his 48 per cent shareholder, the Shaked family, to M&A opportunities. On the contrary, the 888 boss insists that “the door is open to any potential deal” that would benefit investors and acknowledges that William Hill is “a great operator” and that the industrial logic of a combination with Britain’s biggest bookmaker “remains intact”.
Whereas in the past 888 was regarded as an M&A