William Hill tables Sportingbet offer William Hill has tabled its long-awaited formal offer for Sportingbet and described the deal as laying the foundation for its betting operations "for the next 30 years." Ralph Topping, William Hill's chief executive, said the £485m cash and shares deal that the group had put together with GVC Holdings would deliver higher quality earnings, less exposure to the UK market and more exposure to regulated online revenues. The joint offer is made up of 86 per cent in cash from William Hill and 14 per cent in GVC shares, and is worth 56.1p a share to Sportingbet shareholders. However, the extent of irrevocable undertakings for shares in GVC means that Sportingbet shareholders should be able to sell for cash only if they choose. For William Hill, gaining Sportingbet's Australian business is the main attraction. In the year to August, the division generated net gaming revenues of £87.4m and earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (ebitda) of £34.8m. "We want more international revenues," said Mr Topping in an analysts" conference call. I have had my eye on Australia for a while and spent a lot of time looking at this market. He noted that the Australian betting market had grown at 10-20 per cent a year for five years and said the "proportion of online taking off is very good." He added that the Australian platform - offering sports betting, mobile and a mass audience - was a "sweet spot for us" and had the potential to work in other markets, particularly the US. GVC will take on Sportingbet's European and emerging market operations, although William Hill will also take an option on buying the Spanish operation. William Hill and GVC had cut their joint offer from £530m after Sportingbet reported a hit to its first-quarter revenues. In the absence of counteroffers, the deal is expected to be completed by the end of the first quarter of 2013. William Hill is funding its portion of the bid out of an existing debt facility and a new loan. If the deal goes through, its ratio of net debt to ebitda will stand at 2.6 times in mid-2013, falling to 2.5 times by the end of the year. According to William Hill's estimates, the Sportingbet deal would enhance the group's underlying earnings in the first year, before transaction and integration costs and amortisation of intangible assets. However, Mr Topping declined to be drawn on William Hill's plans to buy out Playtech's 29 per cent stake in William Hill Online, saying the valuation of the stake was being determined by their respective banks. "We are going to let that run and not get too excited," he said. Although analysts had suggested the group would embark on a rights issue to fund both deals, finance director Neil Cooper said William Hill had funds for the Sportingbet deal and had "no need for equity."