American casino operator Caesars Entertainment Incorporated has announced that its proposed $3.7 billion takeover of William Hill has been approved by the British sportsbetting giant’s shareholders.

The Reno-headquartered casino behemoth used an official Thursday press release to declare that the envisioned acquisition was recently backed by 86% of those holding shares in William Hill, which was easily above a required 75% threshold, and is now expected to be definitively concluded by the end of March ‘subject to the satisfaction of the remaining outstanding regulatory conditions and final approval of the English court.’

Continuing communication:

Tom Reeg serves as Chief Executive Officer for Caesars Entertainment Incorporated and he used the short press release to subsequently assert that ‘the parties are making progress towards obtaining all necessary regulatory approvals required to close the transaction.’

Enlarged entity:

Caesars Entertainment Incorporated only completed its own $17.3 billion merger with smaller compatriot Eldorado Resorts Incorporated in July to create the world’s largest single casino firm with over 50 venues spread across the United States, Canada, Egypt, South Africa, Dubai and the United Kingdom. The NASDAQ-listed operator moreover revealed that the recent approval has opened the way for it to begin acquiring a majority interest in William Hill with the price of individual shares pegged at approximately $2.72.

Domestic disposal:

For its part and London-based William Hill is responsible for over 1,400 retail betting shops spread across the United Kingdom as well as the United States-facing William Hill US sportsbetting enterprise. Many industry experts have predicted that Caesars Entertainment Incorporated will subsequently look to offload its coming acquisition’s British interests with New York-listed Apollo Global Management Incorporated being seen as a likely buyer.

Read a statement from Reeg…

“We are pleased to have received William Hill shareholder support for our recommended cash offer. We continue to work towards satisfying the remaining regulatory conditions and look forward to completing the transaction next year and integrating William Hill US into our sportsbetting and iGaming franchise.”