U.K.-listed bookmaker William Hill is reportedly backing a bid by NYX Gaming Group to acquire online betting technology provider OpenBet.
Last week, London’s Telegraph reported that William Hill was putting its money behind a bid by Canada’s NYX to acquire OpenBet, which supplies technology to most of the U.K.’s top online gambling companies, including the one owned by William Hill.
According to the newspaper, OpenBet’s private equity owners Vitruvian Partners have engaged Morgan Stanley to handle the sale of the sports betting industry mainstay. Vitruvian is believed to be seeking upwards of £300 million for OpenBet, a healthy premium on the £208 million Vitruvian paid when it acquired OpenBet in 2011.
Also among the names bandied about as potential OpenBet suitors is rival gambling tech firm Playtech, which supplies online casino products to the majority of U.K.-listed firms.
