REG - William Hill PLC 888 Holdings plc Rank Group PLC - Statement regarding 888 and Rank Group withdrawal <Origin Href="QuoteRef">888.L</Origin> <Origin Href="QuoteRef">RNK.L</Origin> <Origin Href="QuoteRef">WMH.L</Origin>

RankAnnouncement

19/08/2016 14:00

RNS Number : 5935H
William Hill PLC
18 August 2016
THIS ANNOUNCEMENT CONTAINS INSIDE INFORMATION.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
18 August 2016
Statement regarding 888 Holdings plc and The Rank Group plc withdrawal
The Board of William Hill PLC ("William Hill" or the "Group") notes the announcement made by 888 Holdings plc ("888") and The Rank Group plc ("Rank") (together the "Consortium") that, in accordance with the requirements of the UK City Code on Takeovers and Mergers (the "Takeover Code"), the Consortium does not intend to make an offer for William Hill. Accordingly, the Consortium is bound by the restrictions of the Takeover Code.
Gareth Davis, Chairman of William Hill, said: 
"We note the Consortium's confirmation that it no longer intends to make an offer for William Hill. We will continue to focus our efforts on our strategy to deliver value for shareholders. The team has a clear plan to grow by diversifying digitally and internationally and four priorities to get us there. We have had a good start to the second half of the year and the Board now expects operating profit1 for 2016 to be at the top end of the previously guided 260-280m range."
As demonstrated by the Group's half-year results published on Friday, 5 August 2016, three of William Hill's four divisions are performing well and it is making good progress on its plan to improve Online performance across mobile Sportsbook, gaming and key customer journeys. The Group is continuing to focus on the four areas set out by Interim CEO Philip Bowcock:
 Maintain the pace of Online's turnaround;
 Deliver the technology roadmap;
 Drive increased efficiencies across the Group; and
 Refocus the international growth and expansion. 
The revision to the operating profit1 guidance follows a process to validate the full-year expectations over the last three weeks and includes a better than expected EURO 2016 outturn and stronger growth in Retail's gaming machine net revenue.In addition, management believe there are opportunities to benefit from increased efficiencies in certain areas of the business.
The person responsible for arranging for the release of this announcement on behalf of William Hill is Philip Bowcock.
Enquiries
William Hill
Gareth Davis, Chairman
Philip Bowcock, Interim Chief Executive Officer
Lyndsay Wright, Director of IR
Ciaran O'Brien, Director of Communications
Tel: +44 (0) 20 8918 3600
Citigroup Global Markets Limited 
(Financial Adviser and Corporate Broker)
Jan Skarbek
Andrew Seaton
Tom Jacob
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7986 4000
Barclays Bank PLC
(Financial Adviser and Corporate Broker)
Alisdair Gayne
Matthew Smith
Mark Todd
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7623 2323
Brunswick 
Andrew Porter
Oliver Hughes
Rosheeka Field
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7404 5959
This announcement is not intended to, and does not, constitute or form part of any offer, invitation or the solicitation of an offer to purchase, otherwise acquire, subscribe for, sell or otherwise dispose of, any securities whether pursuant to this announcement or otherwise. This is an announcement under Rule 2.4 of the Code and does not constitute an announcement of a firm intention to make an offer under Rule 2.7 of the Code.
The release, publication or distribution of this announcement in jurisdictions outside the United Kingdom may be restricted by law and therefore persons into whose possession this announcement comes should inform themselves about, and observe such restrictions. Any failure to comply with such restrictions may constitute a violation of the securities law of any such jurisdiction.
Citigroup Global Markets Limited, which is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated in the United Kingdom by the FCA and the Prudential Regulation Authority, is acting as financial adviser to William Hill and for no one else in connection with matters set out in this announcement and will not be responsible to anyone other than William Hill for providing the protections afforded to its clients or for providing advice in relation to matters set out in this announcement.
Barclays Bank PLC, acting through its investment bank, which is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated in the United Kingdom by the FCA and the Prudential Regulation Authority, is acting as financial adviser to William Hill and for no one else in connection with matters set out in this announcement and will not be responsible to anyone other than William Hill for providing the protections afforded to its clients or for providing advice in relation to matters set out in this announcement.
Footnotes
1.  Operating profit / loss is defined as adjusted profit before interest and tax. Further detail on adjusted measures is provided in note 3 to the 2016 interim report.

This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
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