Sportingbet rejects 52.5p-a-share offer from William Hill/GVC

AIM-listed online betting firm Sportingbet has rejected an indicative joint offer from sector peers William Hill and GVC Holdings for 52.5p per share.

Sportingbet announced two weeks ago that it was approached by the two companies which were drawing up a possible offer.

The company confirmed weekend press rumours on Monday by saying that the offer - comprising of 45p in cash from William Hill and 7.5p in shares in GVC - was not high enough.

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"The board of Sportingbet has responded that this indicative offer significantly undervalues the business and its future prospects," the firm said in a statement.

Prior to the initial approach on September 19th, Sportingbet's shares had been trading within 40-44p range. The announcement sparked a jump to the 50-54p mark.

Analysts at Panmure Gordon said in a research note today: "We believe Sportingbet is worth over 60p a share excluding any bid speculation and expect Wednesday's FY results to show the business continues to make strong underlying progress."

The shares were given an extra boost by the news today, trading up 3.40% at 53.25p by 15:06.