Bally's Intralot has agreed a recommended all-share acquisition of Evoke plc in a deal valuing the William Hill and 888 operator at £243.1m ($326m), or 52 pence per share.
The transaction gives Evoke shareholders 0.537 new Bally's Intralot shares for each Evoke share, with a cash alternative capped at £117.1m. If completed, Evoke shareholders would own around 11.5% of the enlarged group, assuming no cash elections.
The offer represents a 77% premium to Evoke's three-month volume-weighted average share price before takeover speculation emerged in April and a 138% premium to its closing price before Evoke launched a strategic review in December 2025.
That review followed the UK Government's gambling duty changes, including an increase in Remote Gaming Duty from 21% to 40% from April 2026 and a new 25% remote betting rate from April 2027. Evoke estimated the changes would add £125m to £135m to annual duty costs before mitigation once fully implemented.
The acquisition would add William Hill, 888 and other Evoke brands to Bally's Intralot's lottery, betting and gaming platform. The enlarged group is expected to rank second in UK iGaming and fourth in UK online sports betting by gross gaming revenue.
Bally's Intralot said it expects around £180m of synergies by the end of the second year after completion, mainly from marketing spend, operating efficiencies and IT infrastructure. The enlarged group would have FY25 pro forma net revenue of €3.2bn and pro forma adjusted EBITDA of €856m, including synergies.
Evoke reported FY25 adjusted EBITDA of £356m, up 14%, but also faced leverage of 5.2x and refinancing pressure. The transaction includes £889m of private lender commitments linked to refinancing Evoke's 2028 debt maturities.
Bally's Chairman, Soo Kim, said: "We are excited about the opportunity to bring Intralot and Evoke together to create a leading, diversified European gaming champion with greater scale, resilience and operational capability."
The deal remains subject to shareholder and regulatory approvals and is expected to complete in Q4 2026 or Q1 2027.
In May 2026, Bally's Intralot also extended its Greece lottery partnership with Hellenic Lotteries after the operator secured a new 12-year concession for state lotteries.
In April, Evoke confirmed it was in discussions with Bally's Intralot regarding a potential acquisition after reports suggested Bally's had emerged as the preferred bidder. Global Gaming Insider later analysed the strategic rationale behind a potential combination between the two businesses.
In May, Evoke extended the deadline for Bally's Intralot to submit a formal offer to 8 June, stating that discussions between the parties remained ongoing.
The cash alternative will be scaled back pro rata if shareholder elections exceed the £117.1m cap
