Evoke PLC (LSE: EVOK), the gambling group behind William Hill, 888 and Mr Green, has agreed to a £243 million all-share takeover by Athens-listed gaming operator Bally’s Intralot.
The recommended offer values Evoke at 52p per share and also includes a partial cash alternative for shareholders.
Shares in Evoke jumped 16% to 46.45p on the news, reflecting strong investor enthusiasm for the deal’s terms and structure.
Private equity firms TPG Credit, Oaktree and OHA have committed approximately £889 million to support the transaction and refinance Evoke’s substantial existing debt.
Evoke’s debt pile stood at around £1.86 billion at the end of last year, a burden that has weighed heavily on the company for several years.
The group confirmed it had been in discussions with Bally’s Intralot since April, with an original offer deadline extended by three weeks before Friday’s announcement was made.
Evoke’s heavy debt load traces back to 2022, when 888 Holdings, as the company was then known, completed the £2 billion acquisition of William Hill’s UK business from US casino operator Caesars Entertainment.
That deal left the enlarged group financially constrained as trading conditions across the UK gambling market worsened significantly in the years that followed.
Chairman Mark Summerfield said the board had conducted a strategic review since December 2025 and considered a range of options in light of significant UK gambling duty changes and the pressures created by its capital structure.
Summerfield concluded that the Bally’s Intralot offer “represented the most attractive and deliverable outcome for shareholders” following that comprehensive review process.
Bally’s Intralot chairman Soo Kim said the combination would create a leading diversified European gaming business, pairing Evoke’s heritage brands with Intralot’s technology and data capabilities.
The deal brings together two well-established gaming operations at a time when the UK gambling sector faces mounting regulatory and financial pressure from government duty reforms.
For Evoke, a successful completion would mark a significant turning point after years of struggling under the debt inherited from the William Hill acquisition.
Bally’s Intralot’s backing from major private equity players signals strong institutional confidence in the long-term value of Evoke’s portfolio of recognisable consumer brands.
