Ladbrokes completes Coral merger financing

(ShareCast News) - Ladbrokes has signed a £1.35bn facility to provide financing for its proposed merger with Coral.The new facility for the FTSE 250 company is with a syndicate of relationship banks and has three tranches available for drawing once the merger is completed.The three tranches include a £600m term facility to be repaid in a year, with an extension option to January 2018.The other two tranches are a £400m revolving credit facility until October 2020 and a £350m revolving credit facility until June 2019.As a result, Gala Coral's debt will not be transferred into the enlarged group once the merger is completed.Chief financial officer Ian Bull believes it will provide significant liquidity to the enlarged group after the merger."I am pleased that our relationship banks have shown strong support in putting in place a significant size facility at similar pricing to our current facilities."