William Hill invests in NYX Gaming Group

William Hill PLC

4 April 2016

William Hill invests in NYX Gaming Group to secure technology roadmap

William Hill PLC (LSE: WMH) (William Hill or the Group) announces that it has entered into a long-term commercial agreement with NYX Gaming Group Limited (TSX: NYX.V) (NYX) and, as part of that agreement, is investing £80m in the form of a note redeemable in cash or shares in NYX with an interest coupon of 6% payable in kind. This investment and a further amount of £10m in equity in NYX by William Hill supports the acquisition of OpenBet for £270m, part of NYX's vision for growth.

The commercial agreement and investment secures William Hill's existing technology platform and establishes a clear roadmap for its further development. The Group has agreed terms on a ten-year commercial agreement with NYX from closing of the transaction to further develop William Hill's existing sports betting, gaming and retail platforms and to develop a new platform over the next three years.

Sky Betting and Gaming (Skybet) is also investing as part of the consortium with William Hill in NYX and is also investing in the note and the equity. Through this investment both William Hill and Skybet are supporting the creation of an enlarged NYX Gaming Group, and its vision to be the industry's leading supplier of omni-channel betting and gaming technology and content.

NYX is a digital gaming content and technology supplier providing more than 650 games to over 170 customers, including the supply of over a third of the games on William Hill's Vegas platform. OpenBet is the leading provider of sports betting and gaming technology solutions, powering the largest share of the world's online bets in regulated markets. William Hill has been a customer of OpenBet since 2008. Both NYX and OpenBet have offices worldwide including in North America, Europe, Asia and Australia.

James Henderson, CEO of William Hill, commented:

"Our new commercial agreement is a key step in delivering our technology strategy by enhancing our current platforms and, in parallel, developing a new back-end platform for William Hill to complement and support our Trafalgar platform which is focused on our front-end user experience. This route draws on the OpenBet team's proven sports betting technology expertise and NYX's gaming platform to give us a bespoke technology solution to support and deliver our UK and international growth strategies. I am delighted that William Hill is supporting NYX's vision for growth and expansion into sports betting alongside its strong gaming proposition."

Matt Davey, CEO of NYX Gaming Gaming Group, commented:

"The acquisition of OpenBet by NYX completes the core portfolio of industry-leading products and services we offer to our customers. They are two highly complementary businesses with key strengths in regulated markets, technology services and gaming content. To have a consortium of operators with the pedigree of William Hill and Skybet and the public support of Paddy Power Betfair highlights the strength of NYX's proposition and I look forward to extending our relationship with them."

Citigroup Global Markets Limited acted as sole financial adviser to William Hill on its investment in NYX.

About William Hill

William Hill, The Home of Betting, is one of the world's leading betting and gaming companies, employing around 16,000 people. Founded in 1934, it is the UK's largest bookmaker with around 2,370 licensed betting offices that provide betting opportunities on a wide range of sporting and non-sporting events, gaming on machines and numbers-based products including lotteries. The Group's Online business (www.williamhill.com) is one of the world's leading online betting and gaming businesses, providing customers with the opportunity to access William Hill's products online, through their smartphone or tablet, by telephone and by text services. William Hill US was established in June 2012 and provides land-based and mobile sports betting services in Nevada, and is the exclusive risk manager for the State of Delaware's sports lottery. William Hill Australia is one of the largest online betting businesses in Australia, established through the acquisition of two businesses in 2013. It offers sports betting products online, by telephone and via mobile devices. William Hill PLC is listed on the London Stock Exchange. The Group generates revenues of c£1.6bn a year.

About NYX

NYX is a premier digital gaming supplier head quartered in Las Vegas, USA with a staff of more than 445 employees based in eight countries across Europe, North America and Australia. The Company provides one of the world's largest portfolios of leading content and technology to some of the foremost gaming operators, lotteries and casinos across the globe. NYX also has one of the broadest distribution bases in the industry with over 170 unique customers and a collective game catalogue of over 650 games. The market leading game catalogue includes slots, table games, scratch cards, lottery, bingo and poker available across web and mobile formats. NYX is listed on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol (NYX.V).

About OpenBet

OpenBet is a leading provider of sports betting and gaming technology solutions, powering a leading share of the world's online bets in regulated markets with global software deployments in multiple, regulated gaming jurisdictions, with six offices worldwide including North America, Australia, Singapore and London. With over 200 integrated partners worldwide OpenBet provides a truly open gaming platform and a product suite that ensure the very best and most flexible solutions available. OpenBet deployed the industry's first omni-channel gaming solution and supplies technologies to the major bookmakers in the UK. William Hill and SkyBet already have established relationships with both OpenBet and NYX.

OpenBet's adjusted EBITDA for its fiscal year ended 30 June 2015 was £21.8m. Adjusted EBITDA for the 12 months ended 31 December 2015 was £24.3m. NYX expects to generate annual cost synergies of £2-3m and revenue synergies of £4-5m.