Gala Coral plots £2bn post-Election IPO
Operator said to be weighing up an October flotation should market conditions after May's General Election suit
Gala Coral is reportedly planning to launch an initial public offering (IPO) later this year provided market conditions don’t deteriorate after this year’s UK General Election.
According to the Financial Times, the operator has pencilled in an October IPO date and is expected to appoint one or both of Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley to advise on the £2bn floatation.
And eGaming Review understands the bookmaker has spent the past few weeks reaching out to financial analysts and institutions in order to build relationships and establish lines of communication prior to its switch to the public environment.
However, Gala Coral is thought to be waiting for the result of UK General Election on May 7 before committing to an IPO, with the firm concerned about the potential effects the outcome could have on the gambling industry.
The Labour Party has suggested it would adopt a tough stance on gambling if elected, particularly the land-based industry and its fixed-odds betting terminals, while it also plans to extend the betting right for racing to all sports.
Gala Coral has long been linked to a flotation and in 2013 undertook a review of the business which led to the sale of its land-based casinos and the merger of its two interactive businesses Coral and Gala.
At the time of the review, the then Coral Interactive director John O’Reilly told eGR an IPO wasn’t imminent but that “as a private company a flotation will be in the shareholders thinking”.
Gala Coral is currently in the hands private equity firms including Apollo Global Management, Park Square Capital, Cerberus Capital Management, and Anchorage Capital Partners.
Last year Gala Coral Group EBITDA, which includes its UK and Italian retail businesses, amounted to £235.5m, up 14% on the amount posted the previous year.
A spokesperson for Gala Coral declined to comment.