Ladbrokes in merger talks with Gala Coral Group

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

An bet9ja's welcome offer would produce the UK's most significant bookie with nearly 4,000 High Street shops.

The conversations concern integrating Ladbrokes with Coral Retail, Eurobet Retail and Gala Coral's online companies.

Ladbrokes stated there was no certainty that the talks would cause an bet9ja's welcome offer, and possible terms and timings were also yet to be agreed.

Shares in Ladbrokes rose more than 11% after the announcement.

"A merger with Gala Coral might create a combined service with significant scale and has the prospective to generate considerable expense synergies, producing worth for both companies' investors," chief executive Jim Mullen stated.

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

The merger talks do not consist of Gala's 132-strong bingo business.

Mr Mullen added that the company's board has yet to decide whether a deal would be "strategically appealing" and whether it might be "provided to investors on suitable terms."

The firm stated that the deal, if completed, could be classified as a reverse takeover of Ladbrokes.

Ladbrokes formerly tried to buy Coral in 1998, but its organized takeover was obstructed by the federal government.

The then Trade and Industry Secretary Peter Mandelson said a merger would lead to "a weakening of rate competition at the national level" and a decrease in customer choice.

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

Those strategies would be untouched by any bet9ja's welcome offer with Coral Group.

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