UK bookmaker William Hill has rejected a revised joint takeover proposal from rivals 888 and Rank, saying it continues to see no merit in engaging with the consortium.
Casino and bingo hall operator Rank and online gambling group 888 want to join up with William Hill to create Britain's largest multi-channel gambling operator by revenue and profit.
They say a combination will result in cost savings of £100m (€115m) a year.
However, William Hill spurned the consortium's initial £3.16 billion (€3.66 billion) offer last Tuesday, saying it "substantially undervalued" the business.
It said a revised proposal was received on Sunday, comprising 199 pence in cash and 0.860 BidCo shares per William Hill share, and would result in William Hill shareholders owning 48.8% of the combined group.
William Hill said that with the exception of the change to its shareholders' proposed ownership of the combined group, none of the other key terms of the revised proposal have changed from the consortium's original approach.
It said that based on the combined market capitalisation of the three companies on 22 July, adjusted for the cash component of the revised proposal and before any synergy benefits, the offer equated to an estimated value of 352 pence per share - a premium of 12%.
It said the consortium's previous proposal had an estimated value of 339 pence per share.
22 July was the last trading day prior to the announcement of a possible offer by the consortium.
"This revised proposal continues to substantially undervalue the company and the cash element of the proposal has not changed. Therefore, the board sees no merit in engaging," said William Hill Chairman Gareth Davis.
Under UK takeover rules the consortium has until 21 August to either announce a firm intention to make an offer or walk away.
Shares in William Hill closed Friday at 333.7 pence, valuing the business at £2.9 billion.
