The sale of William Hill: Drama that led to an unlikely handshake.

NOMURA, the Japanese investment bank, emerged from an whirlwind weekend having spent 18 months `fattening' William Hill, three weeks trying to persuade City institutions that it was a worthwhile investment, and less than three days selling it on to fellow venture capitalists.

"Unbelievable" was chief executive John Brown's summing up. No-one would disagree, though others may have more colourful descriptions of the way Hills has been whisked away from public involvement.

The drama began on Thursday, 24 hours before the flotation offer deadline, when Nomura's investment advisers, Warburg Dillon Read, considered the current situation.

A massive advertising campaign had drawn huge support from private investors. But fund managers for City institutions-courted by Brown and his team in a campaign that ranged from the United States to Europe and the major cities in Britain-were not showing the same interest.

THE result was that, on Thursday afternoon, Nomura revised its indicative offer to 135p, compared with the opening range of 155p-175p.

The new price immediately attracted the attention of Cinven and CVC Capital Partners, whose interest had first been aroused-and doused-in December.

After reassuring themselves that the Hills management, led by an old ally in John Brown, was willing to stay aboard, Cinven and CVC came back at the equivalent of 150p a share.

As the fund managers attempted to step in, the offer at the revised share price was over-subscribed three times, but Nomura was not interested.

Despite optimistic noises on Friday, the flotation was scrapped, contracts were drawn up, and at noon on Saturday a deal was secured on a handshake.

Brown should have been at Ascot for the William Hill Handicap Hurdle. He was absent, and the word was that he was talking to his lawyer about his settlement at the revised price of 135p a share.

Little did the punters know.