The UK-based betting and gaming company Ladbrokes announced that it was about to ink a deal with another popular provider of gaming products and services – Gala Coral. The agreement between the two gaming giants was expected to be closed sometime in future.
Details about the potential deal were released at the end of June but according to the announcement, the talks were at an early stage. However, it seems that it is going to be closed really soon or to be more precise, within the next few days.
Once the idea for a collaboration between Ladbrokes and Gala Coral is materialized, the gambling industry is to be taken to new heights as there will be room for further growth and establishment of a powerful gambling empire.
Currently, Gala Coral is owned by major equity investors such as Candover Investments, Apollo Global Management and Cerberus Capital Management. Given the approaching completion of the deal, Ladbrokes is about to issue new shares in order to buy the Gala Coral, which is already a well-recognized bingo and casino operator not only in the UK but in Europe in general.
Gala Coral representatives stated they were convinced that the upcoming merger would bring benefits to the shareholders of both companies. What makes the agreement so noteworthy is the fact that the collaboration between two leading operators on the UK gambling scene poses a threat to prestigious operators such as William Hill.
As soon as the deal between Ladbrokes and Gala is closed, they will have a total of 4,000 shops and a total value of £3.5 billion.
Ladbrokes’ representatives were reluctant to comment on the merger. They did not specify when a special statement on the matter will be released but confirmed that this is not going to happen this week.
The acquisition of Gala Coral has been among Ladbrokes’ top priorities for quite some time. Back in 1998, Ladbrokes attempted at buying Gala but the deal was prevented due to competition concerns.
In point of fact, the UK gambling market has undergone major changes over the last couple of weeks. The latest takeover was initiated by 888 Holdings, which acquired its competitor bwin.party for the amount of £898 million.
888 Holdings was not the only company interested in buying bwin.party, though. At the beginning of the month, bwin rejected two appealing offerings from GVC Holdings and William Hill.
