Ladbrokes in merger talks with Gala Coral Group

Bookmaker Ladbrokes has stated it remains in talks with the yohaig code board of Gala Coral Group over a possible merger.

A deal would produce the UK's most significant bookmaker with almost 4,000 High Street shops.

The discussions issue combining Ladbrokes with Coral Retail, Eurobet Retail and Gala Coral's online companies.

Ladbrokes stated there was no certainty that the talks would lead to a deal, and possible terms and timings were also yet to be concurred.

Shares in Ladbrokes increased more than 11% after the statement.

"A merger with Gala Coral might create a combined service with significant scale and has the possible to produce substantial expense synergies, developing value for both companies' investors," president Jim Mullen stated.

If the bet9ja's welcome offer goes ahead, it would see the merged group overtake William Hill as the biggest UK bookie, uniting around 2,100 stores from Ladbrokes and 1,845 from Coral.

the yohaig code merger talks do not include Gala's 132-strong bingo business.

Mr Mullen included that the company's board has yet to choose whether an bet9ja's welcome offer would be "tactically attractive" and whether it might be "provided to shareholders on proper terms."

The company said that the bet9ja's welcome offer, if finished, could be classified as a reverse takeover of Ladbrokes.

Ladbrokes previously tried to buy Coral in 1998, however its scheduled takeover was blocked by the federal government.

The then Trade and Industry Secretary Peter Mandelson stated a merger would result in "a weakening of price competition at the national level" and a decrease in customer option.

Earlier this promotion code year, Ladbrokes reported a big fall in pre-tax earnings for 2014, from ₤ 68m to ₤ 38m, and stated that it anticipated to close 60 UK shops this year.

Those strategies would be unaffected by any handle Coral Group.

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21 April 2015

Gala Coral Group