Amaya Gaming, the parent company of PokerStars, and leading U.K. bookmaker William Hill are in merger discussions, according to media reports.
The market value of William Hill is $3.3 billion, while Amaya is worth $2.6 billion, according to a report from Bloomberg. The discussions are preliminary at this point.
News of a potential deal sent Amaya’s stock price up five percent to nearly $17 early this week, while William Hill remained nearly unchanged at about $360.
The potential merger follows an attempt by 888 Holdings and Rank Group to acquire William Hill. The bookmaker rejected the $4.2 billion takeover offer from the two rival online gaming firms.
In 2015, William Hill was looking at acquiring 888 for $1 billion.
According to Bloomberg, about $14 billion in mergers and acquisitions has been spent over the past two years alone. In 2014, Amaya bought PokerStars and Full Tilt for $4.9 billion.
In August, former Amaya boss David Baazov resigned from all positions with the company amid an insider trading investigation in Canada.
