Ladbrokes spokesman, Ciaran O’Brien, said the company had no comment on the report when contacted by telephone. A Playtech spokeswoman, who declined to be identified, also had no comment.
Ladbrokes’s CEO Richard Glynn “has a clear mandate to grow the company organically, and he’s focused on that,” O’Brien said. “The board is also looking at other opportunities.”
In December, Ladbrokes said it was in preliminary talks with online gambling company 888 Holdings. The Telegraph said Ladbrokes asked UBS AG and Greenhill & Co. to explore links with Playtech, with a merger only one possibility.
Playtech has a five-year joint-venture agreement with Ladbrokes’ bookmaking rival, William Hill. The shares have declined 5.9 percent so far this year, giving the company a market value of 968 million pounds (US$1.56 billion).
