GVC Ladbrokes deal approved by High Court

GVC’s takeover of Ladbrokes Coral has overcome its final hurdle after the deal was approved by the UK’s High Court.

The £4bn (€4.49bn/$5.55bn) deal is set to be completed before the end of this week after the court sanctioned the scheme of arrangement under the terms of the Companies Act.

The deal was last week approved by the Competitions and Markets Authority (CMA), with shareholders having given it the green light earlier this month.

Updating shareholders, GVC said in a statement that the acquisition is still on-time with the principal events calendar outlined in the scheme document published in February.

Ladbrokes Coral will delist shares from London’s Stock Exchange tomorrow (Wednesday). An application has been made for up to 273 million GVC shares of €0.01 for trading on Thursday morning.

Under the terms of the deal Ladbrokes Coral shareholders will receive 32.7p per share and 0.141 new GVC shares, while there is a further contingent entitlement of up to 42.8p depending on the government ruling on FOBT stakes. A favourable outcome for FOBT operators could push the deal’s worth up past the £4bn barrier.

Related article: Ladbrokes Coral agrees £4bn takeover by GVC