Ladbrokes in merger talks with Gala Coral Group

Bookmaker Ladbrokes has said it is in talks with the board of Gala Coral Group over a possible merger.

An offer would create the UK's biggest bookie with nearly 4,000 High Street stores.

the yohaig code conversations concern combining Ladbrokes with Coral Retail, Eurobet Retail and Gala Coral's online firms.

Ladbrokes said there was no certainty that the talks would lead to an offer, and possible terms and timings were also yet to be agreed.

Shares in Ladbrokes increased more than 11% after the statement.

"A merger with Gala Coral could create a combined organization with significant scale and has the possible to produce significant expense synergies, creating value for both business' investors," primary executive Jim Mullen stated.

If the offer goes on, it would see the merged group surpass William Hill as the yohaig code biggest UK bookie, bringing together around 2,100 shops from Ladbrokes and 1,845 from Coral.

The merger talks do not include Gala's 132-strong bingo service.

Mr Mullen added that the firm's board has yet to choose whether an bet9ja's welcome offer would be "strategically attractive" and whether it might be "provided to investors on proper terms."

The company said that the deal, if finished, could be classified as a reverse takeover of Ladbrokes.

Ladbrokes formerly tried to purchase Coral in 1998, however its organized takeover was blocked by the yohaig code federal government.

The then Trade and Industry Secretary Peter Mandelson said a merger would cause "a weakening of price competition at the nationwide level" and a reduction in customer option.

Earlier this promotion code year, Ladbrokes reported a big fall in pre-tax profit for 2014, from ₤ 68m to ₤ 38m, and said that it expected to close 60 UK shops this promotion code year.

Those plans would be unaffected by any offer with Coral Group.

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