One of the biggest bookmaker in the industry, Ladbrokes Coral, has come to terms with one of their biggest rivals, GVC, for a takeover of up to £4bn. The deal went through after two further attempts failed because of some uncertainties from the UK government review about gambling, with the latest being during summer of 2017.
GVC, which owns some of the big brands in the industry like Foxy Bingo, PartyCasino and Sportingbet. Now with the addition of Ladrbokes, GVC will become a global giant in online operations and Ladbroke’s high street.
GVC will now hold 53.5% of the group with Kenneth Alexander taking control of the whole lot as chief executive officer.
Here is what Ladbrokes’s Charmian had to say about the merge:
“Ladbrokes Coral believes that the merging with GVC will accelerate the company strategy to improve our customer experience, faster growth in online presence and build an extensive international portfolio of businesses.
“It will secure an earlier delivery of our long-term potential. That is why the board has unanimously accepted GVC’s offer.”
Based on the £4bn price, at 207.2p per Share for Ladbrokes Coral, the offer represents a premium of about 19.1%.
Ladbrokes has almost 3,700 high street bookies and about 25,000 staff, while GVC on the other hand has loads of brands after a heavy acquisitions campaign with the most recent one being Bwin.party in February 2016. GVC employs around 2,800 in staff in 15 offices globally.