Kenny Alexander is preparing for a coup in the board of directors of the owner of William Hill

Gambling industry veteran Kenny Alexander is in «friendly» talks with the 888 board as he bids for CEO. Photo: David Rose.

The former Ladbrokes and Coral boss is preparing to stage a board coup against the gambling group behind William Hill if his bid to end control is defeated.

Betting mogul Kenny Alexander and his allies have hired investors Numis bankers ahead of a potential showdown with the board of owner William Hill 888 and its main investor, according to City sources.

Mr. Alexander, a gambling industry veteran who ran Ladbrokes and owner of Coral Entain until 2020, unexpectedly bought a stake in 888 earlier this month and submitted proposals to the board to appoint himself as CEO and a close ally as chairman.

But friendly dialogue could still turn hostile. Mr. Alexander's coalition, known as FS Gaming Investments, is believed to be reluctant to leave if management rejects their proposals.

FS Gaming unexpectedly acquired a 6.6% stake in 888 earlier this month.< /p>

Mr. Alexander, a prominent figure in the industry, teamed up with two former allies from Entain, which was known as GVC while he was in office.

Lee Feldman, former GVC chairman, and Steve Morana, former non-executive director, both are members of the FS Gaming group. Their efforts are also believed to be backed by former GVC CEO Shai Segev.

The US hedge fund raider Parag Vora took advantage of the collapse in 888 shares, increasing his holding of 888 to more than 5% last week.

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Mr. Vora is said to support Mr. Alexander's plans.

In addition to appointing Mr. Alexander as chief executive, rebellious investors are believed to want to remove chairman Lord Jonathan Mendelssohn from the 888 board and appoint Mr. Feldman.

Plans to remove Lord Mendelssohn as Chairman of the Board of 888 may face opposition from his supporters, the Shaked family. 888's largest shareholder, the Israeli Shaked family.

The 888 board and the Shakeds are also said to have concerns about Mr. Alexander taking over the company as a criminal case rages against his former employer.

Entain, GVC's new name, recently revealed that it was in talks to reach a deferred prosecution agreement with the Crown Prosecution Service, which would likely result in a «substantial financial penalty».

This follows from an investigation by HM Revenue & Customs in corporate wrongdoing by the Turkish division of GVC when Mr. Alexander was the group's chief executive.

Sources close to FS Gaming Investments say the Turkish scandal will have nothing to do with the potential appointment of Mr. on Alexander.

A spokesperson for 888 said FS Gaming's investment «reflects significant value creation potential in our business.»

They added: “The Board of Directors remains firmly committed to its long-term strategy to maximize shareholder value. We look forward to updating and engaging with all of our shareholders as we continue to operate in line with our clear strategic and operational priorities.”

All other parties declined to comment.

888 won US investment. Apollo at an auction to sell William Hill assets outside the US in September 2021. But the £2.2bn business price has weighed heavily on 888's share price.

While the shares are up 77% since the acquisition of FS Gaming's stake was first disclosed, 888's market value is still just over £500m.

Shares of 888 changed hands at around 120p each on Friday, a far cry from the 458p after winning the William Hill auction 20 months ago. .

Investors are concerned about the magnitude of acquisition-related debt, which stood at £1.8bn at the end of March.