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Ladbrokes and 888 still in discussions

By admin on 2011-02-11 15:59:04

When two of the largest groups in the online casino industry start to talk to each other in the irish casino news about a possible takeover you would expect a deal to be done quickly or for one of the parties to walk away but discussions between Ladbrokes and 888 Holdings have been going on for weeks, since December in fact when Ladbrokes offered something approaching €300 million as a takeover proposal. Discussions have been so slow to progress that now 888 Chief Executive Gigi Levy when announcing improved third quarter results has had to confirm that discussions are still ongoing. Mr Levy said “There is still interest on both sides in doing a deal. Every big deal has complexities, but there’s nothing which is a big sticking point”. Ladbrokes Chief Executive Richard Glynn has had nothing to say but speculators believe he should be in no rush as 888 might soon be in a difficult cash position making a better deal more likely. This stems from the fact that 888 bought Wink Bingo back in 2009 and part of the price to be paid depends on the subsequent performance which has been far better than expected thus pushing up the price which is to be paid in May. The share price of 888 rose slightly on the announcement of fourth quarter numbers but has fallen by more than 20% since the initial discussion were started suggesting again that Ladbrokes should be in no rush.