GVC raises UK gambling stakes with $5.2 billion Ladbrokes bid

Industry:    2017-12-08

Online gambling company GVC Holdings (GVC.L) is in talks to buy Ladbrokes Coral (LCL.L) for up to $5.2 billion in a long-awaited deal that would transform it into a bastion of British betting.

GVC’s bid marks the biggest wager yet by Kenny Alexander, who would become chief executive of the combined group, which is expected to be large enough to enter Britain’s FTSE 100 index.

Since becoming chief executive a decade ago, the Scot has built GVC through a series of increasingly ambitious deals, including the 1.1 billion pound reverse takeover of Bwin.Party, growing it from an upstart gambling firm to a FTSE 250 business.

Alexander’s latest acquisition would see GVC, which operates Sportingbet, Partypoker, and Foxy Bingo, swallow up the 130-year old Ladbrokes brand, as well as Coral and Gala.

It would also mark GVC’s entry into British retail gambling through its acquisition of approximately 3,500 betting shops, making it the biggest player on the high street and competing with William Hill (WMH.L) and Paddy Power Betfair (PPB.I).

“We’ve come along in a fairly short period of time, we’re very proud of what we’ve achieved,” Alexander said.

Talks between GVC and Ladbrokes Coral, led by CEO Jim Mullen, have been “on and off” for about a year, Alexander said.

print
Source: