In wake of possible government restrictions, Ladbrokes eyes all merger options

According to The Sunday Times, 35 percent of the company's net machine revenue is raked in by FOBTs with the government expected to limit machine wagering levels when it releases its report in October – players are currently allowed to bet as £100 every two seconds, the limit could be now cut to £20.

In view of possible restrictions, the bookmaking giant has reportedly hired the Deutsche Bank, Greenhill, and UBS as corporate advisors to consider all merger options and assess the company's business strategy.

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Back in August, Reuters reported that British online gambling company GVC Holdings held talks about a Ladbrokes takeover but discussion failed

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GVC’s proposal valued Ladbrokes Coral at about 2.7 billion pounds ($3.47 billion), or approximately 140 pence per share, Reuters said at the time. GVC was also prepared to increase the value of the deal by approximately 50 pence a share to about 3.6 billion pounds if the results of the government review were favorable for the industry.

Britain’s gambling sector has been transformed by a wave of deals as companies try to bulk up so that they can absorb the rising costs of stricter regulation and higher taxation.

Ladbrokes completed its merger with Coral last year, while Paddy Power and Betfair have also merged and GVC bought Bwin.