888 & Ladbrokes Merger Talks Terminated

Four months after talks of a merger between two of the world's largest gaming companies; Ladbrokes and 888 Holdings have started, Ladbrokes has announced it is abandoning the talks and is no longer interested in merging with 888 Holdings.

The proposed merger would have seen the UK-based gaming company Ladbrokes with its extensive portfolio of gambling products both for online and offline punters, buyout 888 Holdings, a Gibraltar-based, and together create the largest online gambling company.

The news of the breakdown in talks comes shortly after the announcement from 888 current Chief Executive Gigi Levy about his impending departure from his role as Chief Executive.

The news is also surprising as it comes only one day after Gigi Levy announced that the proposed deal was "still alive" during an 888 Holdings Q1 results presentation to shareholders.

The termination of the talks was instigated by Ladbrokes but no official reason was given by the leading bookmaker as to the motivation behind the termination.

Richard Glynn, CEO of Ladbrokes claimed that they have reached the conclusion that the takeover would have failed to generate the kind of value for the company's shareholders within the standards they are accustomed to.

Although there was no official suggestion that the talks broke down due to 888 Holdings share prices, the statement from Ladbrokes CEO suggests that it played a key factor in the talks getting terminated.

When the news of termination of talks reached the trading floor it caused 888 Holdings shares to drop and Ladbrokes shares to rise.