Ladbrokes and Gala Coral complete merger
Company officially changes name to Ladbrokes Coral Group plc and begins trading on the London Stock Exchange
The Ladbrokes-Gala Coral merger was finally completed today, bringing to a conclusion a more than year-long process to create a new gambling heavyweight.
Ladbrokes plc yesterday officially changed its name to Ladbrokes Coral Group plc and this morning began trading on the London Stock Exchange as the enlarged group.
The announcement comes after the two operators were officially given clearance to complete the £2.3bn merger by the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority after the disposal of 360 betting shops (LBO).
The competition watchdog gave the green light for Ladbrokes and Coral to sell 322 LBOs to Betfred, 37 to Stan James and one to Bet 21, after ruling earlier this year a sale of between 350 and 400 shops was required for the deal to go ahead.
Jim Mullen, Ladbrokes Coral CEO, said it was an “historic day” for the new egaming powerhouse. “Both Ladbrokes and Gala Coral have demonstrated their ability to compete hard and win in increasingly competitive markets.
“This will be the attitude of the management team going forward, to compete hard and set about quickly establishing the business while delivering the synergies as quickly as possible.
“We have a strong management team in place and have worked hard to secure the best talent from across both businesses and externally. We are all excited by the opportunities that lie ahead.”
The enlarged company’s board will see both Ladbrokes’ current chairman John Kelly and CEO Jim Mullen retain the same positions, while Gala Coral CEO Carl Leaver will become executive chairman for a one-year fixed term.
According to a prospectus released last week, the operators believe they can achieve annual pre-tax cost synergies of at least £65m following the merger.
Ladbrokes Coral Group’s share price was up 1.71% to 136p on the London Stock Exchange at the time of writing.