Poll results: Scientific Games/NYX deal bad news for Hills
Voters suggest the acquisition could lessen the bookmaker’s influence over OpenBet
William Hill could be an unwitting victim of Scientific Games’ acquisition of NYX, according to a majority of voters on this week’s poll.
Two-thirds of respondents said the deal would have a negative impact on the UK bookmaker, with the primary concern being its loss of influence over OpenBet.
As Cenkos analyst Simon French pointed out last week, Hills originally helped fund NYX’s takeover of OpenBet “to have more influence over building out a global sports betting and trading platform in the coming years.”
Losing its position as a major shareholder in the middle of a three-year technology project with the sportsbook supplier is perhaps viewed as a negative by voters.
However one-third of respondents said the deal was good news for Hills, with one benefit being a positive return on its £90m investment, which some analysts suggested would otherwise have decreased in value.
Goodbody wrote last week: “Given the poor performance of NYX since the William Hill investment and the long duration of the loan, we believe people are likely to have been attaching a heavy discount to William Hill’s investment in valuation.”