Ladbrokes edges closer to Gala Coral acquisition

Ladbrokes and Gala Coral in June confirmed that they were in talks over a possible merger. The deal would involve Ladbrokes and Gala Coral-operated Coral Retail, Eurobet Retail and the firm’s online business, which includes its popular internet bingo service.

Despite neither operator providing an update over the talks, The Sunday Times newspaper has reported that discussions are now at an advanced stage and a deal could be done before the end of the week.

If an agreement were to be reached, the merger would create a combined high street and online gambling operation worth approximately £3.5 billion (USD 5.5B) with 4,000 land-based shops.

However, the proposed merger would need to clear a number of hurdles in order for a deal to be finalised, including securing the approval of the UK Competitions and Markets Authority.

Ladbrokes attempted to buy Gala Coral in 1998, but the move was blocked by then-UK Trade and Industry Secretary Peter Mandelson, on the grounds of it being anti-competition.

The news comes shortly after market rival 888 agreed an £898 million deal to buy bwin.party, seemingly seeing off competition from GVC Holdings to acquire the online operator.