William Hill’s £4.5bn merger talks with Canada’s Amaya have come to an end.
The bookmaker said this morning that it had ended discussions after consulting shareholders.
Read more: Ex-William Hill boss says bookie should abandon Amaya merger plans
The FTSE 250 company said in a statement:
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.
It emerged earlier this month that William Hill was in talks with the Canadian online gambling group.
Read more: William Hill keeps its bets on merger talks with Amaya despite opposition
The talks came after Will Hill rejected a takeover approach from 888 Holdings and Rank Group over the summer.
However, its discussions with Amaya attracted opposition from some high-profile shareholders, as well as the firm’s former chief executive Ralph Topping.
The odds of the deal going through were dealt a blow last week when Parvus Asset Management, the bookie’s single largest shareholder with a 14.3 per cent stake, said the potential merger – which would create a combined company worth around £4.5bn – had “limited strategic logic and would destroy shareholder value”.