Bally’s Intralot strikes £243 million deal for Evoke takeover
Bally’s Intralot has agreed a deal worth approximately £243.1 million to acquire Evoke, the owner of brands such as William Hill and 888.
On Friday, the two companies announced an agreement of an all-share acquisition for the entire ordinary share capital of Evoke, which has been considering a sale since it initiated a strategic review in December last year.
Under the agreement, Evoke shareholders will receive 0.537 new Bally’s Intralot shares for each Evoke share, with a limited cash alternative also available. The offer values Evoke at 52p per share.
Evoke’s directors intend to unanimously recommend that the company’s shareholders vote in favour of the deal, which will form a “geographically diversified gaming champion with operations across six core markets”.
Subject to approvals, the acquisition is set to be completed in either Q4 2026 or Q1 2027.
Evoke chairman Mark Summerfield stated the agreed terms represent the “most attractive and deliverable outcome” for shareholders, saying: “The combination will create one of the world’s leading online betting and gaming groups with superior scale, exceptional brands, increased diversification and a platform for strong growth through enhanced capabilities.
“I’m confident Intralot will be a strong and supportive owner of the business, and together with the more sustainable capital structure, the combination offers the best route to deliver long-term value for our shareholders and broader stakeholders.”
Sokratis Kokkalis, chairman of the Bally’s Intralot board of directors, added: “Today marks the beginning of a major new chapter for our company with the submission of a binding offer for the acquisition of Evoke aimed at creating a very strong global player in the gaming industry. This move demonstrates the new momentum our company has gained, justifying the trust shown to us by the investment community.”
The details of the deal
The offer represents a 77% premium to Evoke’s three-month volume-weighted average share price of 29.4p before Bally’s Intralot disclosed its potential bid in April.
It is also a 138% premium on Evoke’s share price of 21.9p at the end of 9 December 2025, the last day before Evoke announced it was initiating its strategic review.
After the acquisition becomes effective, Evoke shareholders will own around 11.5% of the newly formed group, assuming none of them opt for the cash alternative offer.
Bally’s chairman Soo Kim believes the deal will prove a successful one for both parties, explaining: “We are confident that this transaction will deliver substantial benefits for both Intralot and Evoke shareholders.”
Newly created gaming giant
The enlarged group will operate across six core markets, with a total addressable market of €36 billion.
It is set to benefit particularly in the UK, with the newly formed group ranking as the second biggest player in UK iGaming, as well as fourth in the online sports betting segment.
But the UK was also a key reason behind Evoke’s strategic review, which was launched in the month following the announcement of a rise in the Remote Gambling Duty from 21% to 40%. The increase came into effect in April this year.
In the announcement of the deal, Bally’s Intralot voiced its confidence in the UK market, describing it as a “highly attractive geography” with a significant opportunity for consolidation.
Why would Bally’s buy Evoke?
The announcement from Bally’s Intralot of its intention to acquire Evoke raised questions in some quarters over why it was looking to do so.
For the financial year ending 31 December 2025, Evoke was lumbered with net debt of over £1.86 billion.
Bally’s Intralot also closed its FY2025 with an adjusted net debt of €1.49 billion.
Ben Robinson, founder and managing partner of the advisory firm Corfai, suggested to iGB that the combined net debt of over £3 billion was being “underpriced”.
He said Bally’s Intralot could look to reduce leverage following the acquisition by selling off parts of the business, with its Italy and Mr Green operations obvious candidates.
But while Bally’s Intralot CEO Robeson Reeves wouldn’t entirely rule out future sales on a conference call with the gambling trade press, he said there was no current intention to sell assets.
“If someone offered me a billion for [the] Denmark [business], I’d sell,” Reeves remarked. “Sometimes when you say ‘I won’t sell something’, and someone offers you a knockout price which is ridiculous, you take it anyway’.
“People will talk to me and say, ‘Why don’t you sell Italy?’ or something like that. Italy is one of the prized assets, probably one of the things I’d refuse to sell.”
Future expansion
According to Reeves, the deal to acquire Evoke will save Bally’s Intralot seven years in terms of making it the global business he has sought to build.
“We’ll be number two in the UK, we’ll be pretty large in other markets, but there’s a big old planet where we can still expand into,” he said.
“We want to have diversified income, so we’ll definitely be looking at which markets we spend our money in. I’m definitely looking at this as giving us a pathway for further expansion.”