On the assumption that Ladbrokes Coral waits until its full-year figures in March to give further guidance on the benefits of the merger completed on November 1, it will have been almost two years since the news of talks first broke before investors have a clear idea of what they are getting. This is a timescale more associated with mega-mergers in the US than in a sector of the UK market that is already consolidating.
Don’t blame the protagonists. The Competition and Markets Authority embarked on a detailed inquiry before deciding that combining the respective high street empires of Ladbrokes and Coral would create a lack of competition in some places and required the sale of 360-odd outlets, which is agreed but still going through.