LONDON (Alliance News) - Shareholders in bookmaker Ladbrokes PLC have ignored concerns raised about the group's planned merger with rival Gala Coral Group Ltd by a prominent shareholder and have approved the deal, a filing showed on Tuesday.
Ladbrokes shareholders vote in favour of the deal by an overwhelming majority of around 96%, with only 3.6% of the votes cast rejecting the merger.
Irish businessman Dermot Desmond had launched a campaign to try and block the deal, claiming the merger was the "wrong deal" for Ladbrokes and calling on shareholders to vote against it.
Desmond claimed the GBP2.1 billion merger with Gala Coral will lead to the "death of Ladbrokes" as an independent company.
Desmond is thought to own a stake of around 2.0% in Ladbrokes.
On Monday, the UK's Takeover Panel said a hearing will take place on Thursday after Desmond had made a complaint about the panel's executive arm in regards to the deal.
Shares in Ladbrokes were down 0.5% to 109.50 pence on Tuesday.
By Sam Unsted; samunsted@alliancenews.com; @SamUAtAlliance
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