UK bookmaker William Hill’s struggling Australian online sports betting operation has attracted at least four serious suitors, according to local media reports.
On Tuesday, the Australian Financial Review reported that four companies – Ladbrokes, Bet365, Paddy Power Betfair’s local brand Sportsbet and Australian online operator CrownBet, which was just acquired by PokerStars parent company The Stars Group – had submitted bids for William Hill Australia by Monday’s deadline.
Citigroup, which was tasked with flogging Hills’ Australian division, will reportedly select a winner by week’s end. The sale is expected to fetch around A$200m (US$156m) and the transfer of control could come as early as the end of March, assuming the selected winner finds no dark secrets lurking in the company’s balance sheets.
William Hill put its struggling Aussie operation under review in January, following the passage of new restrictions on credit betting and in-play wagering, as well as the imposition of state-level point of consumption taxes. William Hill booked a £238m impairment charge on the Aussie operation in last week’s FY17 report. The site is estimated to control a 5% chunk of Australia’s regulated online betting market.