Caesars Entertainment will sell William Hill’s non-American assets, as reported by the Telegraph.

The US casino operator acquired the UK bookmaker in a £2.9bn ($3.7bn) takeover deal last month.

The potential sale concerns around 1,400 William Hill high street shops throughout the UK, and could be worth as much as £1.5bn, with the bookmaker’s online businesses in the UK and Europe also part of the auction.

Private equity company Apollo Global Management is reportedly in the driving seat to buy the assets, having attempted to buy the whole package in 2020. At the time, Caesars said that if William Hill chose Apollo, it would jeopardise a joint venture between them. Israeli firm Shaked Ventures - the group behind 888 Holdings - is also in the running.

Caesars’ acquisition of William Hill was initially held up by a court hearing after minority shareholder HBK Capital Management raised concerns about disclosures relating to the deal. The firm, along with fellow US hedge fund GWM Asset Management, wrote to the board arguing that the terms were not properly disclosed by the bookmaker.

The deal was agreed in September 2020, and was last month sanctioned by the court after a delay of almost three weeks.