888 Holdings rockets on bid speculation

Shares in online betting company 888 Holdings soared on speculation that a buyout bid, the value of which was put at £750m, from rival William Hill, could soon materialise.

888 jumped 22% on Tuesday following the news, while William Hill was down 1.5%.

The two companies are believed to have reached an initial agreement over a 210p a share offer in a bid to expand its online gaming operations, the Times said.

However, one of the group's founding Israeli families can be holding out for 300p a share.

The newspaper reports that industry sources think William Hill might have offered both the Shaked and Ben-Yitzhak families the choice of taking cash or paper. The two families together hold 60% of the group.