Amaya-William Hill merger talks come to an end

[The Buzz]

William Hill released a statement today, announcing that it will "not pursue" further discussions with Amaya regarding a merger.

After canvassing views from a number of William Hill's major shareholders, the Board has decided that it will not pursue discussions with Amaya. Accordingly, the Board has informed Amaya that it is withdrawing from discussions and wishes Amaya well for the future.

Amaya followed with a release of its own, stating that "upon the unanimous recommendation of the Special Committee" it "concluded that at this time remaining as an independent publicly-traded corporation best positions Amaya to deliver long-term shareholder value."

“Amaya is a strong and growing company with experienced management and a proven strategy to deliver profitable growth and shareholder value,” said Divyesh (Dave) Gadhia, Chairman of Amaya. “Together with our financial advisors, we evaluated a wide range of strategic alternatives to maximize shareholder value and have concluded that remaining an independent company is in the best interest of Amaya’s shareholders at this time. The Board has full faith in Amaya’s management to execute on its strategy and objectives.”

Here's a link to the PokerStars corporate blog: https://www.pokerstars.com/en/blog/c...r-163618.shtml

And here's a link to the William Hill press release: http://www.williamhillplc.com/newsmedia/newsroom/corporate-news/2016/update-on-merger-discussions/