William Hill shares increase as financier rejects merger plan

Shares in William Hill have risen after the wagering company's biggest shareholder said it would oppose any merger handle Canada's Amaya.

Last weekend William Hill said it remained in talk with merge with Amaya, which owns poker sites Full Tilt and PokerStars, in a potential ₤ 4.5 bn deal.

But Parvus Asset Management said the merger had "minimal tactical logic" and would "damage investor value".

Shares in William Hill - a FTSE 250 member - closed up 5% at 314.1 p.

Parvus stated the betting company must think about other all options to increase investor returns, consisting of a possible sale.

Ralph Topping, who stepped down in 2014 after 8 years as chief executive of William Hill, said he "completely supported" Parvus.

"When this promotion code deal was announced I was left scratching my head," he told the Financial Times, external. Both [Amaya and William Hill] have a lot to sort out in their own company. I'm extremely nervous on the future of William Hill."

Also on the FTSE 250, shares in Man Group jumped 13.7% after the world's biggest noted hedge fund said it was buying investment manager Aalto, which manages home assets worth $1.7 bn.

Man Group likewise reported a 6% rise in the value of funds under management during the three months to September and said it prepared a $100m share buyback.

The blue-chip FTSE 100 index rose 35.81 points to 7,013.55. Tesco was the biggest riser, up 4.41% to 203.7 p. The supermarket said on Thursday night that it had fixed its pricing row with supplier Unilever. Shares in Unilever were down 0.5%.

On the currency markets, the pound was trading at $1.2185, down 0.56%, versus the dollar.

Against the euro it was flat at EUR1.1083.

William Hill in ₤ 4.5 bn merger talks

9 October 2016