|
William Hill plc is a bookmaker based in the United Kingdom and is listed on the London Stock Exchange. ==History== The company was founded by William Hill in 1934 at a time when gambling was illegal in Britain.〔(William Hill: History )〕 It changed hands many times, being acquired by Sears Holdings in 1971,〔(Richard Davenport-Hines, ‘Clore, Sir Charles (1904–1979)’ ) ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 2004〕 then by Grand Metropolitan in 1988, then by Brent Walker in 1989.〔 In September 1996, Brent Walker recouped £117m of the £685m it had paid for William Hill when Grand Metropolitan were found to have exaggerated the company's profits at the time of the sale.〔"BRENT WALKER RECOUPS POUNDS 117M FROM BETTING STAKE OF SEVEN YEARS AGO", ''The Observer'', London, 29 September 1996〕 Japanese investment bank Nomura mounted a £700m leveraged buyout of William Hill in 1997, when Brent Walker collapsed with debts exceeding £1.3bn〔(【引用サイトリンク】 Brent walker group plc: disposal of william hill and delisting )〕 after an investigation by the Serious Fraud Office which saw two directors given jail sentences. In February 1999, a proposed stock market flotation was abandoned due to "weak interest"〔"BOOKIE CITY PLAN FALLS AT FINAL HURDLE", ''Sunday Mirror'', London, 21 February 1999〕 and Nomura offloaded the company to funds managed by private equity firms Cinven and CVC Capital Partners for £825m instead.〔 The company was eventually listed on the London Stock Exchange in 2002.〔 The following year Chief Executive David Harding was awarded a £2.84m bonus, making him the UK's fifth highest paid company director in 2003.〔Business & Media: Business: Top 10 highest paid directors, ''The Observer'', London, 1 February 2004〕 It acquired Sunderland Greyhound Stadium in 2002 and Newcastle Greyhound Stadium in 2003.〔 In June 2004, Chief Executive David Harding sold £5.2m of shares to fund his divorce, precipitating a decline in the company's stock that wiped £75m off the value of the company.〔"Wm Hill defends statement timing as shares fall again", ''The Guardian'', London, 7 July 2004〕〔"WILLIAM HILL CHIEF BLAMES DIVORCE FOR POUNDS 5M STAKE SALE THAT KNOCKS SHARES", ''The Independent'', London, 11 June 2004〕 In 2005, William Hill bought 624 betting offices in the UK, Republic of Ireland, Isle of Man and Jersey from Stanley Leisure for £504 million: the acquisition briefly took the company past Ladbrokes into first position in the UK betting market〔("William Hill buys Stanley shops" ) BBC News, 16 May 2005〕 in terms of shops but not revenue. The Office of Fair Trading made William Hill sell 78 of the 624 Stanley shops due to concerns over anti-competitive practices. Amidst fears that William Hill had overpaid for the Stanley shops, the company was relegated from the FTSE 100 Index in December 2005.〔(【引用サイトリンク】 Wm Hill defies relegation )〕 In 2008, Ralph Topping was appointed Chief Executive. After having dropped out of Strathclyde University as a self-confessed 'rascal',〔 Topping had taken a Saturday job at a William Hill betting shop near Hampden Park, Glasgow, in 1973 and worked his way up through the ranks.〔(Business big shot: Ralph Topping ) ''The Times'', London, 22 February 2008〕 In November 2008, William Hill went into partnership with Orbis (latterly OpenBet), and Israeli software company Playtech, to remedy its own failing〔(【引用サイトリンク】 Casino machines save Hill after web bets flop )〕 online operation.〔(William Hill in deal with Playtech to expand on-line gaming operation ) ''The Independent'', 21 October 2008〕 Under the terms of the deal, William Hill paid Playtech's founder Teddy Sagi £144.5m for various assets and affiliate companies.〔(【引用サイトリンク】 Interview: Henry Birch, William Hill Online )〕 These included several online casino sites which William Hill continues to run under the name WHG. Playtech took a 29% stake in the new William Hill Online entity.〔 The company wrote-off a reported £26m when scrapping their previous in-house system.〔"Bookie's IT botch", ''Daily Mail'', London, 11 January 2008〕 In June 2009 William Hill backed Playtech despite their partner having a quarter of its stock market value wiped out following a profits warning. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「William Hill (bookmaker)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|