Ladbrokes Deal with Gala Coral on the Verge of Finalisation
Published on by Andrew Mills
The £2 billion merger between Ladbrokes and Gala Coral could be confirmed as early as this week, it has been revealed by the UK newspaper, The Sunday Times.The report in the paper hints that Gala Coral, which is privately owned, could hand a £50 million windfall to senior staff. The report also states that the bookmaker is “set to seal its alliance with struggling rival Ladbrokes this week”.The merger between the two companies was announced some time ago, but the announcement that the deal could be tied up this week came as a surprise to some as Ladbrokes had been strongly linked to a possible takeover by Paddy Power.
Scrutiny
If a deal is reached between the two, it is likely to receive some scrutiny from the Competition and Markets Authority, with the watchdog having prevented such a merger between the two from occurring some 17 years ago.In an update on Monday (August 29th, 2016), Ladbrokes said:“Shareholders are advised that there can be no certainty that the discussions between Ladbrokes and Gala Coral will lead to any agreement concerning the possible merger or as to the timing or terms of any such agreement and there can be no assurance that, even if reached, any such agreement would be completed.”
Business review presentation
Ladbrokes business review presentation, which had been highly anticipated by many, has been put on hold for the time being while talks between Ladbrokes and Gala Coral take place.The review was to be the opportunity for new Ladbrokes chief executive Jim Mullen to outline the company’s new strategy under his leadership.Analysts were expecting a focus on digital market spend, but the review will have to wait while the finer points of the possible merger between the two companies are discussed.