Shareholders must also sign off on deal
The £2.3 billion merger of British bookmakers Ladbrokes and Coral will not be complete until shareholders and regulators approve of the deal. Until then, says Ladbrokes CEO Jim Mullen, the two companies will remain “fierce competitors.”
“We’ll be looking to basically beat them in all products we compete in,” Mullen told the UK Daily Telegraph.
The proposed deal, which would create Britain’s largest bookmaking firm, must receive the go-ahead from the UK Competition and Markets Authority. The regulator could block the merger if it deems it would create a monopoly.
Meanwhile, Mullen predicted the merger “is probably the start of consolidation in our sector. I wouldn’t be surprised if you see some more. It’ll be a different landscape in five years’ time.”
According to Bloomberg News, Ladbrokes and Coral are uniting to fight a wave of online competition; Ladbrokes reported a first-half loss after writing down the value of its 2,169 betting offices. Together, Ladbrokes and Coral control about 14 percent of the U.K. digital gambling market.
The Irish Times reports that Mullen will try to regain customers by boosting traditional and nontraditional channels as he closes underperforming shops.
