With every ‘i’ dotted and ‘t’ crossed, the industry stands by as two major players in the gambling industry complete the massive merger joining Ladbrokes and Gala Coral to form the Ladbrokes Coral Group worth £2.3 billion.
The UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) gave their final approval to okay the merger after recommending the sale of a large portion of each company’s betting shops to address concerns regarding potential competition being sparked by a merger in the UK. The group responded having sold a total of 360 betting shops to competitors like Betfred and Stan James.
The chairman of the newly merged companies, John Kelly, said, “In uniting these two businesses we are bringing together some of the best known and admired brands in betting and gaming.
“We believe that no other gambling business has such a strong heritage, with brands that enjoy such broad appeal and a presence that is woven into the fabric of the UK culture as well as overseas regulated markets.
“Together, we have the opportunity to grow the business building on our scale, the digital opportunity we have in our markets, our international presence and through delivery of significant synergy savings.
“We have a strong management team in place and are already well placed to set about the creation of a new business with a clear focus on delivering the opportunities the completion of the merger offers us.”
Jim Mullen, chief executive of Ladbrokes Coral, added, “This is a historic day for the company and one which marks the start of an exciting journey for the business; both Ladbrokes and Gala Coral have demonstrated their ability to compete hard and win in increasingly competitive markets.”
The group’s executive deputy chairman, Carl Leaver, commented, “Our merger with Ladbrokes brings new and exciting opportunities for both companies and, under the leadership of Jim Mullen, we are now in a position to make our ambition of creating the UK's leading betting and gaming business a reality.”
Source:
‘Ladbrokes finalises merger with Coral’, igamingbusiness.com, November 1, 2016