An acquisition discussion between evoke and Bally’s Intralot has been officially confirmed to be taking place.
A public disclosure by evoke, approved by the Bally’s Intralot Board, revealed that there are ongoing talks about a potential buyout of evoke’s entire issue and to be issued share capital at a price of 50 pence per share.
On 17 April, the LSE-listed gambling group had 450 million outstanding shares. With 50p per share, this would bring the purchase value at around £225m. In light of the announcement, evoke’s share price has gone up, hovering around the 42p price – the highest it has been in a month.
Bally’s Intralot reserves the right to vary the terms of the offer, if any is made, with 18 May being the deadline to confirm any such offer.
Robeson Reeves, Bally’s Intralot CEO, commented: “We have built a business with a margin profile that stands out in this industry. evoke has the scale.
“We see a compelling opportunity to bring our operating model to a significantly larger business, and the potential to transform its financial performance through massive synergies that we are uniquely positioned to deliver. This is an opportunity we are pursuing with conviction.”
The acquisition will bring three major brands under the Bally’s Intralot arm – evoke’s iGaming platforms 888casino and MrGreen, as well as William Hill, which is the largest retail bookmaker in the UK as well as a considerable online brand.
However, this will also come with a substantial debt, with evoke reporting -£1.8bn in its interim H1 2025 results.
At the end of 2025, evoke confirmed that it is undertaking a strategic review with the help of financial advisers Morgan Stanley and Rothschild & Co, which is when sale speculations also intensified.
This was exacerbated further when evoke pushed back its FY25 results to 29 April, a month later than its usual reporting in the last couple of years.
The news about the strategic review followed soon after the UK Autumn Budget announced by Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves, who confirmed that Remote Gaming Duty will go up from 21% to 40% starting this April.
Ahead of the budget, evoke decided to wind down its William Hill international presence, pulling the brand out of 13 markets to primarily focus on the UK. However, a further 200 shops were later confirmed to be closing in its domestic market.
For Bally’s Intralot, the benefits are clear – a leadership position not only in the UK but in several other major European markets, such as Italy where evoke recently secured a €7m licence under a newly-regulated regime.