Its a joint venture. The details are here http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/0348a286-9ee0-11dd-98bd-000077b07658.html?nclick_check=1
From the press reports in todays Financials it seems to have been very warmly welcomed. Now all I have to do is placate those of you with lingering doubts. 
Dont forget, this is going to happen over a period of months, not days, so at the moment, absolutely nothing changes. William Hill will stil be running their affiliate program, Webroute will be running Blackpool Club and Cpays will be looking after their portfolio of brands.
Over the next few months I understand that a new integrated platform will be released that will allow affiliates to log into one admin site and viewe the stats for all the brands. When this happens I imagine that the shift in emphasis between the companies will change – I will be Account Managing William Hill, Blackpool Club and the Cpays brands in the UK with the London team, what *was* Cpays will be doing the same into Europe and William Hill Online will be in a position to take the best parts of each company and share that experience across each brand.
In theory this should mean a massive increase in the available offers to the Affiliates, and more choice for the players – for example it will mean that Blackpool Club could offer a sportsbook courtesy of the Orbis platform that William Hill use, it could mean that William Hill get a better Bingo platform to run off, and it could mean that we can also supply a comprehensive White Label that offers Casino, Poker, Bingo and Sportsbook.
The JV is desiged to help everyone. I realise that the name CPays doesnt sit well with some affiliates (in fact when we were briefed about it I thought ‘Oh….’), but the bottom line is that in about 6 months there will be one company called William Hill online that will be devoted to providing the best possible gaming experience for players and the best possible Account Management for the affiliates. We are not going to do anything that will impinge on your earning ability, it really wil be a win/win for all parties.
Obviously I understand any reticence – after all this is a massive change involving about 40-50 companies (not just the brands mentioned, but credit card processing companies, customer services, fraud control, *everything*), but at the moment I think the best thing is to voice any opinions and fears here and let me deal with them as they come.
Additionally, if anyone has any outstanding issues with Cpays, then email me or msn me. If you have any paperwork that shows you are owed money this will all help. Over the next few months I will personally help anyone to get what they are owed!