888 Rejects Takeover Approach by William Hill

888 Holdings Plc reported last month that it considered and then rejected an approach from William Hill about a possible takeover.

The company said it turned own the £700 million offer from Britain’s largest bookmaker because one if its major investors disagreed with the valuation.

“Due to a significant difference of opinion on value with a key stakeholder, it has not been possible to reach agreement on the terms of a possible offer, and the board of the company has agreed with William Hill to terminate discussions,” 888 said in a statement.

William Hill was working with Citigroup Inc. as it evaluated the possible offer, Bloomberg News reported citing an unnamed source. 888 is advised by Investec Bank Plc and Morgan Stanley. Following the news, 888’s shares fell as much as 17.5 percent to 140.63 pence.

888 has considered buyout offers in the past. In 2011, the company negotiated with Ladbrokes over a possible acquisition. The talks ended the same as similar talks did in 2007, in failure.

The company is largely owned by the Ben-Yitzhak and Shaked Israeli families, which together hold around 60 percent of all shares.