William Hill owner rejected £700m takeover bid from Playtech

The owner of betting giant William Hill reportedly rejected a £700m takeover offer from sports-betting software firm Playtech this summer on the grounds that the deal undervalued the firm.

888 Holdings, which owns the popular bookies alongside a host of online bingo and casinos firms, snubbed the offer back in July, according to a report in The Sunday Times.

It is thought that news of the takeover proposal will heap fresh pressure on the betting firm’s board as it’s share price continues to slide. Shares have fallen to 70.6p, which values the business at little more than £300m.

In recent months 888 Holdings has been forced to pay out millions of pounds in fines handed out by the UK’s gambling watchdog. In May, 888 Holdings was slapped with a record £19.2m fine and the following month it was hit with a further £9.2m penalty.

The company has also warned of a hit to its earnings for the third quarter, which is expected to fall by as much as 10 per cent.

888 Holdings and Playtech were contacted for comment.