Mergers & Acquisitions in July 2015

The second half of 2015 started strongly with a total of 274 deals recorded in July – the highest total so far this year.

 

One of the main talking points of the month was the announcement in late July of a £1.1 billion merger between bookmaker operators Ladbrokes PLC and Gala Coral Group Ltd.

 

Gala Coral Group, which operates well-known brands Coral and Gala Bingo as well as Gala Casino and Eurobet, will add it’s 1,845 high street bookmakers to Ladbrokes 2,100 shops. The merger will see Ladbrokes issue new shares to the shareholders of Coral, representing 48.25% of the new company, which will be known as Ladbrokes Coral.

 

With nearly 4,000 betting shops and 30,000 emplyees, the new £2.3 billion gambling giant is set to overtake William Hill as Britain’s biggest bookmaker.

 

Other notable deals in July include the announcement that Japanese media giant, Nikkei Inc, is set to complete the £856 million acquisition of the Financial Times Ltd, whilst Lloyd’s Pharamcy Ltd has also announced that they are set to acquire J Sainsbury PLC’s pharmacy business for a total outlay in excess of £85 million.