Poll results: BetVictor/888 tie-up makes the most sense for 2017
Readers suggests BetVictor could be the sportsbook that 888 has been looking for
BetVictor and 888 are the two companies who could gain the most from a tie-up in 2017, according to respondents to this week’s poll.
Almost 42% of readers picked a merger of the two as the piece of M&A they would most like to see next year.
It is well known that 888 is on the lookout for a firm which can help bring its sportsbook in-house and BetVictor has the slick product and technical expertise that could smooth the integration.
Just over 29% of voters wanted to see a tie-up of GVC and Ladbrokes Coral, which would create £3.5bn company with a huge online and retail presence. The firms’ mutual links with Playtech could also ease integration issues.
However while the two firms were talking about a tie-up, negotiations reportedly broke down earlier this week.
The third most popular choice at 16% of votes was Kindred and Betsson, a merger which has been circulated several times, and would create a European powerhouse.
A tie-up could be especially appealing for the firms given the squeeze they could feel from the soon-to-be regulated Dutch market.
Just 8% of voters wanted to see a GVC and William Hill merger, while 4% of readers thought a Ladbrokes Coral and Tabcorp matchup made sense. That deal was given an unlikely boost this week, when a Morgan-Stanley backed group made a £4bn bid for Tatts, which could break up the Tabcorp Tatts merger.