UK bookmakers William Hill have rejected a £3.6b takeover bid by rivals Rank Group and 888 Holdings.

On Tuesday, UK media reported that Rank and 888 had submitted a joint £3.6b bid to acquire Hills, following rumors that surfaced late last month. Under the UK market’s takeover regulations, the companies had until Aug. 21 to formally make their intentions known.

Later on Tuesday, Hills chairman Gareth Davis issued a statement saying the company’s board of directors had unanimously rejected the 364p-per-share bid as too low. The board’s opinion was that Rank-888’s plans to achieve synergies that would boost the deal value to 408p-per-share would take too long to achieve.

Davis also said the deal – which would involve the companies taking on £2.2b in debt – was “a very complex three-way combination at a low premium involving substantial risk for William Hill shareholders: execution risk, integration risk and risks of materially increased leverage.”