Evoke shares slide after last week’s M&A-influenced surge
Reports from Greece suggest Bally’s could be plotting a move for the group, while its retail estate continues to be linked to a Betfred bid
Evoke’s shares have tumbled 6% this morning, 26 January, despite a rally last week on the back of M&A whispers.
The William Hill, 888 and Mr Green parent company has seen its stock slip to 27p, at the time of writing, leaving the debt-laden group with a market cap of £133m.
Evoke’s shares had spiked last week, peaking at 31p on 22 January, giving the London-listed firm a lift of 32% at one point.
The group ended the week up 25%, yet those gains have been wiped out in trading this morning, with the stock trading at 26p, at the time of writing.
Evoke is due to deliver its post-close trading update for Q4 and full-year 2025 tomorrow, 27 January.
The stock was down as much as 11% at one point today.
The share price increase last week was fuelled by continued M&A speculation surrounding the operator.
On 10 December, the board announced a strategic review of the business, having appointed Morgan Stanley and Rothschild as joint financial advisers.
The review will consider a range of options, including the “potential sale of the group, or some of the company’s assets and/or business units”.
The confirmation of the review came after the UK government announced tax hikes on online gaming and sports betting in the Autumn Budget in November.
Remote gaming duty will almost double from 21% to 40% as of April, while remote general betting duty is to rise from 15% to 25% from April 2027.
Evoke said the changes would mean its duty costs will increase by between £125m and £135m on an annualised basis.
The business has also warned of job losses and a lower investment in UK sport.
Prior to the Budget, on 26 November, Sky News reported that evoke was exploring the sale of its Italy-facing assets to raise cash and offset the impact of UK tax hikes.
Industry newsletter Earnings + More then reported that a full group sale could be on the cards. Then, last week, Greek newspaper Proto Thema suggested Bally’s was eyeing up evoke.
Bally’s is live in the UK with a handful of igaming brands, including Jackpotjoy, Monopoly Casino and Bally Casino.
The firm’s International Interactive arm was snapped up by Greek supplier giant Intralot last year in a €2.7bn deal.
Bally’s claims to be the number two online casino operator in the UK, based on market share.
Robeson Reeves, who was named Intralot CEO after the deal went through, has previously stated Bally’s could be a “consolidator” in the UK.
Elsewhere, there are rumours Betfred could be a potential suitor for Hills’ retail estate, should the wider evoke group be broken up.
As of 30 June 2025, evoke had 1,302 open shops, down from 1,331 at the end of H1 2024.
The operator reported a 6% jump in retail revenue to £121.7m for Q3 2025, with bosses citing the rollout of new gaming machines and improved sports performances as reasons for the increase.
However, any deal for evoke or its assets will be hampered, or at least made difficult, by its significant debt pile.
The operator’s net debt stood at £1.8bn at the end of H1 2025, representing a net debt to EBITDA ratio of 5x. The full-year 2027 target is 3.5x leverage.
The majority of this debt was accrued when 888 paid £1.95bn for William Hill’s non-US assets from Caesars Entertainment in 2022.