13th May 2011 18:05
William Hill PLC - Update on injunction
13 May 2011
Agreement between William Hill and Playtech
William Hill PLC (William Hill) and Playtech Limited (Playtech) jointly announce that they have today reached an amicable resolution of their dispute relating to Playtech's interests in William Hill Online. As a consequence, the parties are applying for the injunction secured by William Hill against certain Playtech group companies to be discharged and the related court hearing scheduled for next week to be vacated with the court's permission.
In arriving at this resolution, including the discharge of the injunction, the exit provisions of the existing shareholders agreement have been confirmed to the parties' satisfaction, including William Hill's call option rights exercisable in early 2013 and 2015.
In addition, the parties have agreed to certain changes to the agreement which grant greater flexibility to their respective operations, including William Hill Online, and which may open up further commercial opportunities for the parties. These include increased flexibility for William Hill Online to provide betting services to William Hill's Retail business and the cancellation of the sole restriction regarding Playtech's ability to license its software, which restriction related to a UK land-based gambling operator. The existing restrictions on UK Marketing Services provision remain in place, running through to the first call option date.
As reported in William Hill's preliminary results announcement on 25 February 2011 and first quarter Interim Management Statement on 21 April 2011, the performance of William Hill Online remains strong.
-ends-
Enquiries:
William Hill PLC
Ralph Topping, Chief Executive
Neil Cooper, Group Finance Director
Lyndsay Wright, Director of IR
Tel: +44 (0) 20 8918 3614
Brunswick:
Simon Sporborg / Justine McIlroy
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7404 5959
About William Hill
William Hill is a leading betting and gaming company. It is one of the UK's largest bookmakers, with around 2,300 shops in the UK and Ireland that provide betting opportunities on a wide range of sporting and non-sporting events and, in the UK, offer gaming machines. William Hill Online provides internet-based sports-betting, casino, poker and bingo, and is one of the leading European online betting and gaming businesses operated by a listed company.
Related Shares:
PlaytechWMH.L