Sportingbet agrees William Hill deal

William Hill is set to get one over on its rival Ladbrokes by securing the £530m takeover of Sportingbet.

The web and mobile phone betting firm was a target for Ladbrokes last year, but the deal did not come to fruition.

Yesterday Sportingbet indicated that it would accept an offer of 61.1p a share from William Hill and its takeover partner GVC Holdings. This comes two weeks after a 52.2p a share deal was roundly rejected by Sportingbet.

Sportingbet's Australian arm is responsible for most of the group's revenues. The European business is suffering as punters exercise caution.

A formal offer is needed by 13 November under Takeover Panel rules.

William Hill has 2,300 betting shops across the UK. Sportingbet, which owns Paradise Poker, offers sports betting and games across 26 countries and has more than 700,000 active customers.