William Hill shares increase as financier rejects merger plan

Shares in William Hill have actually risen after the yohaig code wagering business's biggest shareholder stated it would oppose any merger deal with Canada's Amaya.

Last weekend William Hill said it remained in speak to combine with Amaya, which owns poker websites Full Tilt and PokerStars, in a potential ₤ 4.5 bn deal.

But Parvus Asset Management said the merger had "restricted strategic logic" and would "damage shareholder value".

Shares in William Hill - a FTSE 250 member - closed up 5% at 314.1 p.

Parvus stated the betting company ought to think about other all options to maximise shareholder returns, including a possible sale.

Ralph Topping, who stepped down in 2014 after 8 years as president of William Hill, said he "fully supported" Parvus.

"When this promotion code deal was revealed I was left scratching my head," he informed the Financial Times, external. Both [Amaya and William Hill] have a lot to arrange out in their own company. I'm very anxious on the future of William Hill."

Also on the FTSE 250, shares in Man Group leapt 13.7% after the world's greatest listed hedge fund stated it was purchasing financial investment supervisor Aalto, which handles residential or commercial property possessions worth $1.7 bn.

Man Group also reported a 6% rise in the value of funds under management during the 3 months to September and said it prepared a $100m share buyback.

The blue-chip FTSE 100 index rose 35.81 points to 7,013.55. Tesco was the greatest riser, up 4.41% to 203.7 p. The grocery store said on Thursday night that it had actually resolved its pricing row with provider Unilever. Shares in Unilever were down 0.5%.

On the currency markets, the pound was trading at $1.2185, down 0.56%, against the dollar.

Against the euro it was flat at EUR1.1083.

William Hill in ₤ 4.5 bn merger talks

9 October 2016