Just days after speculation emerged that GVC was weighing up an ambitious takeover bid for the newly merged Ladbrokes Coral group, it is being reported that talks have broken down.
Shares in Ladbrokes Coral climbed on Friday as speculation grew but dropped by nearly 10 per cent yesterday, after the Financial Times reported that the talks had come to an end.
Although the prospects of a deal quickly faded, it seems likely that mergers and acquisition will continue to grab the headlines in the gaming sector in the next year and beyond.
David Jennings, an analyst at Davy Research, told FT.com: “Consolidation is front and centre of everything in the gambling sector right now and even early-stage talks are taken seriously by the market.
“What we saw [on Monday] with Ladbrokes was the unwinding of expectations on Friday. With so much focus on incoming legislation, scale is important.”
Jennings said Ladbrokes would probably complete its merger with Coral before contemplating further moves.
