Key Takeaways:
- Evoke confirmed 50p-per-share Bally’s Intralot offer valuing group at £225.3M.
- Bally’s Intralot has until May 18 to make a firm offer or walk away.
- Deal follows UK’s November 2025 remote gaming duty hike from 21% to 40%.
Evoke shares jump 16% on confirmed takeover talks
Evoke’s Monday statement says the proposal is expected to take the form of an all-share combination with a partial cash alternative, covering “the entire issued and to be issued share capital of the company.” The 50p offer represents a 29% premium to Evoke’s 38.85p closing price on Friday, whose shares rose nearly 16% on Monday morning in response.
Morgan Stanley and Rothschild & Co are advising Evoke on the evaluation. Under UK listing rules, Bally’s Intralot has until 5 p.m. on May 18 to announce its intentions, unless both parties are happy to extend this.
Bally’s Intralot CEO Robeson Reeves said the company had identified “substantial strategic and operational synergies” with a combination. “We have built a business with a margin profile that stands out in this industry. Evoke has the scale. We see a compelling opportunity to bring our operating model to a significantly larger business, and the potential to transform its financial performance through massive synergies that we are uniquely positioned to deliver.”
A key context to the offer is Evoke’s strategic review from last December. Evoke owes lenders approximately £1.8 billion, much of it from 888’s £2 billion acquisition of William Hill’s non-US operations in 2021. The group also operates the Mr Green and 888 brands.
The debt bill is further compounded by a recent tax hike. Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced increases to online gambling duties in the autumn 2025 budget, raising remote gaming duty from 21% to 40% effective April 2026 and introducing a new 25% online sports betting duty from 2027, with horse racing exempt. Evoke said in March it would close approximately 200 betting shops from May onwards, citing the duty hike as a primary factor and projecting increased duty costs of up to £135 million annually from 2027.
Deutsche Bank downgraded Evoke shares to “hold” in January with a price target of 35p.
Per Racingpost, Goodbody gaming and leisure analyst David Brohan described the announcement as “no surprise” given recent speculation. “Bally’s Intralot has a podium position in the UK iGaming market, and we view this possible deal as a smart move from them against the backdrop of a more challenging operating environment post the UK tax rises,” Brohan said.
The £225.3 million proposed valuation represents more than double Evoke’s market capitalization at the time of its December 2025 strategic review announcement, which stood at around £98 million following the autumn budget-driven share collapse.
Bally’s Intralot reported combined pro-forma revenues of approximately €1.1 billion and adjusted EBITDA of €431 million in 2025 following the International Interactive acquisition. Evoke said there is no certainty an offer will be made and advised shareholders not to take any action in response to the proposal – standard language at this stage in takeover discussions, regardless of what may follow.
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