William Hill shares increase as investor declines merger strategy

Shares in William Hill have risen after the betting company's biggest investor said it would oppose any merger handle Canada's Amaya.

Last weekend William Hill said it was in talk with merge with Amaya, which owns poker websites Full Tilt and PokerStars, in a prospective ₤ 4.5 bn bet9ja's welcome offer.

But Parvus Asset Management said the merger had "minimal strategic reasoning" and would "damage shareholder worth".

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

Parvus stated the wagering firm needs to think about other all alternatives to maximise investor returns, consisting of a possible sale.

Ralph Topping, who stepped down in 2014 after eight years as primary executive of William Hill, said he "completely supported" Parvus.

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

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

Man Group also reported a 6% rise in the yohaig code worth of funds under management throughout the yohaig code three months to September and said it planned a $100m share buyback.

The blue-chip FTSE 100 index rose 35.81 points to 7,013.55. Tesco was the most significant riser, up 4.41% to 203.7 p. The supermarket stated on Thursday night that it had actually solved its prices 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%, versus the dollar.

Against the euro it was flat at EUR1.1083.

William Hill in ₤ 4.5 bn merger talks

9 October 2016