Bally’s Intralot is expected to announce on Friday an agreement to acquire UK online gambling group Evoke plc in a deal valuing the company at approximately £240 million, according to people familiar with the matter.
The transaction price is expected to be set at 52 pence a share, modestly above the initial 50 pence-per-share proposal disclosed in April and representing a premium of roughly 30% to Evoke’s most recent closing price of 40 pence.
Under the proposed terms, half of the consideration would be paid in shares of the enlarged Bally’s Intralot and the remainder in cash, allowing Evoke shareholders to retain exposure to the future performance of the combined business.
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The deal would bring together two complementary segments of the global gambling industry. Bally’s Intralot has built its business around lottery operations and gaming technology platforms, while Evoke is one of Europe’s largest online betting and gaming operators, owning brands including William Hill, 888 and Mr Green.
The acquisition comes as Evoke trades at a valuation that many investors view as depressed relative to its operating performance. The London-listed company generated revenue of £1.78 billion in 2025 and reported adjusted EBITDA of £356.2 million, an increase of 14% from the previous year. Yet its market value remained constrained by concerns over leverage and the impact of regulatory and tax changes in the UK gambling market.
Evoke ended 2025 with net debt of approximately £1.86 billion, equivalent to 5.2 times EBITDA. Management has also warned that planned changes to gambling taxation in the UK could reduce annual earnings by between £125 million and £135 million before mitigation measures.
The pressures facing the company were reflected in its latest financial statements. During 2025, Evoke recorded impairment charges totaling £440 million, including £270.8 million related to its UK online betting operations and £169.5 million tied to its retail betting estate.
Including debt, Evoke’s enterprise value under the proposed transaction would be close to £2.1 billion. Based on 2025 earnings, that implies an enterprise-value-to-EBITDA multiple of roughly 5.9 times, a level that many industry analysts would consider relatively modest for a company with established brands and a significant share of the European online gaming market.
For Bally’s Intralot, however, the principal attraction lies beyond the headline valuation. Executives have pointed to substantial operational and technological synergies through the integration of platforms, infrastructure and back-office functions. Market estimates suggest those synergies could reach as much as €180 million annually within the next two years.
If realized, those efficiencies would materially increase the earnings power of the combined group and lower the effective acquisition multiple well below current levels, strengthening the strategic and financial rationale for the transaction.
A key feature of the deal is expected to be the treatment of Evoke’s debt. Bally’s Intralot is not expected to provide guarantees for the company’s existing £1.86 billion debt burden, according to people familiar with the discussions. Instead, U.S. investment firm TPG Credit is expected to play a central role in refinancing and restructuring the debt package, with a commitment that could reach £800 million.
The structure would allow Bally’s Intralot to gain control of a business generating nearly £1.8 billion in annual revenue and more than £350 million in EBITDA while limiting its direct exposure to Evoke’s leverage. At the same time, the company would retain most of the potential upside from cost savings and operational synergies expected to emerge from the combination.
