Appointment of Per Widerström as CEO

888 Holdings plc

25 July 2023

 

25 July 2023

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THIS ANNOUNCEMENT CONTAINS INSIDE INFORMATION

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

888 Holdings Plc

("888" or "the Group")

Appointment of Per Widerström as Chief Executive Officer

888 (LSE: 888), one of the world's leading betting and gaming companies with internationally renowned brands including William Hill, 888 and Mr Green, today announces the appointment of Per Widerström as Chief Executive Officer ("CEO"), with effect from 16 October 2023.

Per has more than 17 years of experience in the online gaming industry, having most recently held the position of CEO at Fortuna Entertainment Group, a market leading omni-channel betting and gaming business across Central and Eastern Europe, from 2014 to 2022. Prior to that Per held a succession of senior roles across leading online gaming businesses from 2006 onwards.   

Upon Per joining the Group, Lord Mendelsohn will return to the role of non-executive Chair, whilst ensuring a smooth transition of responsibilities.

Lord Mendelsohn, Executive Chair of 888, commented:

"We are delighted to be able to appoint Per following what has been an extensive and comprehensive search process. The Board unanimously agreed that Per was the clear standout candidate to lead the Group to build on the strong platform for growth and value creation that has been established.

Per has extensive experience in both public and private companies, and a long track record with a proven ability to execute value creation plans.  As well as being an energetic and inspiring leader, Per brings nearly two decades of highly relevant industry expertise into the role. He has a strong and proven track record of driving growth and delivering transformation programmes at multiple leading online gaming businesses, and the Board is very pleased to appoint someone with the skillset to deliver our objective to become a much stronger international multi-brand operator, leveraging our technology and data capabilities to drive an acceleration in growth.

Per not only understands the power and exciting potential of the business, but the Board is also very pleased with his strong record and reputation on governance and compliance."

Per Widerström, incoming CEO of 888, commented:

"I am delighted and honoured to become the Group's new CEO. Following 888's combination with William Hill, the Group has a world-class portfolio of betting and gaming brands, an outstanding technology platform, and an exceptional team. Together these attributes mean it is exceptionally well positioned to become a clear global industry leader.

It is incredibly exciting to be joining at such a key moment in the Group's long-term development. 888 has a clear and attractive opportunity ahead of it and I am very much looking forward to getting started and working with the rest of the team to build on the strong progress already made and achieve the Group's full and very exciting potential."

Enquiries and further information:
888 Holdings Plc	[phone]
Lord Mendelsohn, Executive Chair Yariv Dafna, Chief Financial Officer Vaughan Lewis, Chief Strategy Officer

Investor Relations James Finney, Director of IR Media	[e-mail] [e-mail]
Hudson Sandler Alex Brennan / Michael Sandler / Charlotte Cobb / Andy Richards	[phone]

Biography:

·     Per Widerström, 57, is a global business leader with an excellent track record of value creation across multiple leading companies in the betting and gaming industry, in both public and private companies, and in non-executive and executive roles.

·      Per was CEO of Fortuna Entertainment Group from 2014 to 2022, where he was instrumental in designing and delivering a five-year value creation plan to grow Fortuna into the leading omni-channel regulated operator in Central and Eastern Europe. Per's plan centred around improving technology and product, gaining market share in existing and new territories via driving operational excellence, and accelerating growth through M&A. During his tenure at Fortuna, EBITDA grew from €25m to €150m by 2020.

·     Prior to Fortuna, he was Managing Director of Gala Interactive at Gala Coral Group Plc from 2011 to 2014, where he took part in transitioning the business from a retail-centric culture to an online-first approach, including building an entirely new team and operations for the Gala interactive business resulting in a trebling of EBITDA. Per was also the chair of Gala Coral Interactive, where his responsibilities included ensuring collaboration and knowledge sharing between the two businesses. 

·    Earlier in his career, he was Chief Operating Officer of PartyGaming plc from 2010 to 2011 and subsequently Chief Integration Officer at Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment Plc following its merger in 2011.

·    Per's first role in gambling was as group CEO and Chair of the Board at Expekt.com from 2006 to 2009, a European focused betting and gaming brand where he led transformational growth through to its €120m sale.

·    Prior to joining the gaming industry, Per held a range of senior operational and commercial roles at large global organisations, including COO of Kyivstar, CEO of Telenor Mobile Sweden, and Director, Operational Marketing and Business Development for The Coca-Cola Nordic Services.

·      Per holds Masters in International Accounting and Finance from the LSE

Disclosures pursuant to paragraph 9.6.13 of the Listing Rules of the Financial Conduct Authority

Per Widerström is currently a Non-Executive Director of Casumo Holding Plc, Bokadirekt, Qred Holding AB, Sambla Group AB, Turbotic AB, Catena Media Plc, Bilthouse GmbH, Nordnet Bank AB, and is engaged as an Industrial Advisor by Nordic Capital a private equity firm.

Prior to commencement of his role as Director and CEO at 888, Per will stand down from his roles at Casumo Holding Plc and Catena Media, and plans to reduce other external commitments before taking up his post.

There are no further disclosures required in respect of these appointments pursuant to paragraph 9.6.13 of the Listing Rules of the Financial Conduct Authority.

CEO remuneration

Per Widerström will received an annual fixed pay of £676,000, be eligible to receive annual bonus and Performance Share Plan awards, and relocation support, all in line with 888's existing remuneration policy.

Further details of his remuneration arrangements will be set out in the 2023 Director's Remuneration Report.

About 888 Holdings Plc:

888 Holdings plc (and together with its subsidiaries, "888" or the "Group") is one of the world's leading betting and gaming companies. The Group owns and operates internationally renowned brands including William Hill, 888, and Mr Green. In addition, the Group operates the SI Sportsbook and SI Casino brands in the US in partnership with Authentic Brands Group.

Incorporated in Gibraltar, and headquartered and listed in London, the Group operates from offices around the world and employs over 11,000 people globally.

The Group's mission is to lead the gambling world in creating the best betting and gaming experiences, bringing unrivalled moments of excitement to people's day-to-day lives. It achieves this by developing state-of-the-art technology and content-rich products that provide fun, fair, and safe betting and gaming entertainment to customers worldwide.

Find out more at:

http://corporate.888.com/

Important Notices

This announcement may contain certain forward-looking statements, beliefs or opinions, with respect to the financial condition, results of operations and business of 888. These statements, which contain the words "anticipate", "believe", "intend", "estimate", "expect", "may", "will", "seek", "continue", "aim", "target", "projected", "plan", "goal", "achieve", words of similar meaning or other forward looking statements, reflect 888's beliefs and expectations and are based on numerous assumptions regarding 888's present and future business strategies and the environment 888 will operate in and are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially. No representation is made that any of these statements or forecasts will come to pass or that any forecast results will be achieved. Forward-looking statements involve inherent known and unknown risks, uncertainties and contingencies because they relate to events and depend on circumstances that may or may not occur in the future and may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of 888 to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward looking statements. Many of these risks and uncertainties relate to factors that are beyond 888's ability to control or estimate precisely, such as future market conditions, currency fluctuations, the behaviour of other market participants, the actions of regulators and other factors such as 888's ability to continue to obtain financing to meet its liquidity needs, changes in the political, social and regulatory framework in which 888 operates or in economic or technological trends or conditions. Past performance of 888 cannot be relied on as a guide to future performance. As a result, you are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements. The list above is not exhaustive and there are other factors that may cause 888's actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements contained in this announcement. Forward-looking statements speak only as of their date and 888, its respective parent and subsidiary undertakings, the subsidiary undertakings of such parent undertakings, and any of such person's respective directors, officers, employees, agents, affiliates or advisers expressly disclaim any obligation to supplement, amend, update or revise any of the forward-looking statements made herein, except where it would be required to do so under applicable law. No statement in this announcement is intended as a profit forecast or a profit estimate and no statement in this announcement should be interpreted to mean that the financial performance of 888 for the current or future financial years would necessarily match or exceed the historical published for 888

 

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