William Hill shares rise as investor rejects merger plan

Shares in William Hill have risen after the wagering business's largest shareholder stated it would oppose any merger offer with Canada's Amaya.

Last weekend William Hill stated it was in speak with combine with Amaya, which owns poker websites Full Tilt and PokerStars, in a possible ₤ 4.5 bn deal.

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

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

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

Ralph Topping, who stepped down in 2014 after eight years as president of William Hill, said he "totally supported" Parvus.

"When this promotion code deal was revealed I was left scratching my head," he informed the Financial Times, external. Both [Amaya and William Hill] have a lot to arrange out in their own organization. I'm very nervous on the yohaig code future of William Hill."

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

Man Group also reported a 6% rise in the yohaig code value of funds under management throughout the 3 months to September and stated it planned a $100m share buyback.

The blue-chip FTSE 100 index increased 35.81 points to 7,013.55. Tesco was the greatest riser, up 4.41% to 203.7 p. The supermarket stated on Thursday night that it had solved its prices row with provider Unilever. Shares in Unilever were down 0.5%.

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

Against the euro it was flat at EUR1.1083.

William Hill in ₤ 4.5 bn merger talks

9 October 2016