Ladbrokes has announced that it is in talks with Gala Coral Group over a potential merger which would combine the UK bookmaker with Coral Retail, Eurobet Retail and Gala Coral's online operations.
Although there is no certainty of the talks resulting in a deal, Ladbrokes’ chief executive Jim Mullen said: "A merger with Gala Coral could create a combined business with significant scale and has the potential to generate substantial cost synergies, creating value for both companies' shareholders."
He added that the firm's board has yet to decide whether a deal would be "strategically attractive" and whether it could be "delivered to shareholders on appropriate terms."
If it comes to completion, the deal would be classified as a ‘reverse takeover’, where a private company acquires a public company to avoid the complex process of going public.
