Gibson Dunn & Crutcher has strengthened its relationship with William Hill, advising on the company’s deals with OpenBet and NYX Gaming, represented by Dentons.
Under the terms of the transaction, Gibson Dunn client William Hill has entered into a 10-year commercial agreement with Canadian supplier NYX Gaming to further develop its technology platform across the globe.
Gibson Dunn partner Jonny Earle led the team for William Hill, supported by finance partner Philip Crump, tax partner Jeff Trinklein and regulatory partner Patrick Doris.
The company’s commercial partner, Canadian listed company NYX Gaming, meanwhile turned to Dentons’ new UK corporate head David Collins for support. Corporate partner Darren Acres also acted on the deal, alongside banking partners Lee Federman and Catherine Astruc, competition partner Adrian Magnus, tax partner Andrew Thornton and TMT partner Anna Copeman.
The agreement between the pair has helped support the £270m acquisition of technology company OpenBet, with gambling group Sky Bet also forming part of the buying consortium with William Hill and NYX Gaming.
The target OpenBet was previously owned by private equity firm Vitruvian Partners and the latter sought representation from Dickson Minto and Latham & Watkins, while Pinsent Masons provided management advice.
SkyBet, which joined William Hill and NYX to form a buying consortium for OpenBet, worked with Herbert Smith Freehills (HSF) partner Mark Bardell.
William Hill, NYX Gaming and Sky Bet all came together to win the auction process for OpenBet, which has been the target for a number of different companies in the past few months.
Background to the deal
Gibson Dunn & Crutcher partner Jonny Earle has acted on a number of acquisitions for William Hill since joining the US firm in 2014, including the UK listed company’s purchase of NeoGames for $25m (£16m).
Earle was a key adviser to William Hill while at Ashurst, which has traditionally been viewed as the company’s main adviser. The firm worked on the company’s £1.2bn refinancing and buyout of its online division from Playtech in 2009, winning a place on William Hill’s panel the year previously.
Following the hires of Ashurst trio Charlie Geffen, Nigel Stacey and Earle, Gibson Dunn’s UK office has taken on an increasing number of mandates for William Hill, building on the firm’s relationship with the company in the US.
There has been a wave of activity in the gambling and betting sector in recent months, with Ashurst and Slaughter and May leading on Ladbrokes’ merger with Gala Coral, and Allen & OVery and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer advising on the Paddy Power Betfair combination.
At the end of 2014, HSF partner Bardell worked with Sky Bet on Sky’s sale of its betting business to private equity firm CVC Capital Partners.