William Hill granted extra time for Sportingbet bid

By GARETH MACKIE
Published on 13/11/2012 08:33

William Hill, the UK’s largest bookmaker, has been given until next month to submit a formal bid for online gaming company Sportingbet following its £530 million takeover approach.

The Takeover Panel, which oversees mergers and acquisitions, has extended the deadline for an offer until 5pm on 4 December to allow discussions to continue between Sportingbet, William Hill and joint bidder GVC Holdings.

The original deadline was due to expire later today but an extension had been expected given the complexity of the talks.

Sportingbet, which requested the extension, said: “There is no certainty that at the end of this period, an offer for Sportingbet will be made, nor as to the terms of any such offer.”