Betting giant William Hill has notched another acquisition in its global expansion strategy, completing a merger with Australia’s Sportingbet for A$660 million.
“This acquisition is part of our core strategy to expand selectively into international markets and to grow our online business,” said Hills Chief Executive Ralph Topping.
Mr Topping described Sportingbet as a “well-recognized brand” with “an experienced team and a market-leading position in a highly competitive market”.
Sportingbet Australia and its Centrebet brand operate from offices in Sydney and Darwin offering online, mobile and telephone sports betting.
“It will be very much business as usual at Sportingbet with the existing management team staying in place to grow the business alongside William Hill,” said Sportingbet CEO Michael Sullivan. “There will certainly be no change for our clients, who will continue to be offered the huge range of markets and service that they have become accustomed to.”
Publicly traded Hills, the UK’s largest bookmaker with 2,400 licensed betting offices, became the first British bookmaker licensed in the United States last year and has expanded agressively in Spain and Italy.
