Canadian Based Amaya Inc Hires M&A Specialist From William Hill

Canadian based Amaya Inc, the parent company of online poker giant PokerStars recently announced that it has hired merger and acquisition specialist Robin Chhabra, the erstwhile Group Director of Strategy and Corporate Development of UK betting giant William Hill.

Chhabra had been with William Hill since 2010 and in his role developed long term growth strategies for the firm along with advising it in its mergers and acquisitions deals.

Prior to this role he was the Director of Corporate Development at Inspired Gaming a digital gaming company.

Chhabra is yet to be given a formal title at Amaya but he is likely to lead the company in its initiatives to expand. Amaya has been exploring mergers in the recent past.

William Hill and Amaya had briefly discussed a £5-billion merger deal in late 2016 but it fell through after a survey showed William Hill shareholders were not in favor. It was widely speculated that William Hill’s biggest shareholder Parvus Asset Management had objected to the deal stating that it would hurt shareholders because Amaya’s major business, online poker was facing a declining market and could cause long-term loss for William Hill.

Divyesh Gadhia, chairman of Amaya, had at that time said that after a full review of available strategic options, the board of directors had decided that it was in best interests of the shareholders to remain an independent company. The appointment of Chhabra could be seen in light of Amaya’s plans to aggressively expand and diversify its gaming business. There are indications that PokerStars is looking for a well-established partner to give its sportsbook business a big push.

In its latest results released late March, Amaya revealed a reducing reliance on poker. The poker revenue share contribution dropped to 70 percent in the fourth quarter of 2016, down from 78 percent a year ago. The share of its online casino and sportsbook segment on the other hand grew to 25.8 percent from 17.2 percent the previous year, indicating a clear shift in strategy.

Analysts noted that Amaya was managing poker erosion by diversifying its offerings. Online poker has been under regulatory pressure worldwide but particularly so in the U.S. where just three states have legalized online poker. Several other states are considering legislation of online gambling but the process has been very slow. The global online poker industry has proven to be a tough market in recent years and this is another reason why Amaya is looking to focus on the sports betting segment.