My oh my how the tables have turned. It was back in February of last year that William Hill offered to buy 888 for £744M. Disagreements over value from one key stakeholder torpedoed the deal. In street terms, that key stakeholder wanted more money, and boy was he right. Now it’s 888, together with Rank Group that may be making a bid for William Hill, and judging by the numbers, patience and tenacity may have paid off for 888 here, assuming the deal goes through for which there is no assurance yet.

888 being an Israeli company, the saying “Kol Mann D’Avid Rachmana LeTav Avid” is particularly relevant here for them. It means, “Everything that the Merciful One does is for the good.” The English equivalent would be “Everything is for the best.” It applies here in reference to 888’s failed bwin.party bid. The saying is based on a story of a Rabbi with a donkey, a rooster, and a candle looking for a place to sleep in one town while traveling. Nobody let him in so he slept in the woods, but a wind blew out his candle and wild animals ate his rooster and donkey. He responded by saying everything was for the best. He wakes up the next morning to find everyone in the town killed and their stuff stolen by robbers, and had they seen the candle or heard his animals they would have found him, too. It’s more of a way of looking at things rather than an ontological statement about reality, but in any case, better to buy William Hill than bwin.party. And back to numbers.

In February 2015 when William Hill made its offer, WMH shares were bordering on 400 pence. 888 was at 160. Since then, 888 has jumped by 36%, while William Hill has declined by 15%. 888 is now 13% higher than the total price offered by William Hill a year and a half ago. So not only is 888 more valuable now than what it was offered back then, but William Hill is cheaper now than what was worth back then, giving 888 and Rank a discount if the deal comes to fruition. As for Rank, it is up 27% since William Hill’s 2015 offer for 888, meaning it also has more financial power to buy them out.

There is another cool yet sneaky discount that 888 and Rank could get from this deal, and it’s due to the Brexit vote. While the vote will probably not change anything practically, it has certainly crashed the British pound sterling to 30 year lows. The GBP is 15% lower than it was when William Hill made its initial offer for 888. Yes, granted a lower GBP also hurts 888 and Rank who both earn money in that currency, but they also earn euros which are up against the pound. Their non-pound earnings plus the discount from the foreign exchange fall together give both another discount on net.