Michael Murray: Shareholders in Ladbrokes should listen to Desmond
The proposed management restructuring following the mooted merger between Ladbrokes and Coral is a recipe for infighting
Dermot Desmond’s arguments against the merger of Ladbrokes and private equity-owned rival Coral are many and compelling. They highlight the fact that the Ladbrokes board has no convincing plan to pull the sclerotic firm out of its track record of huge under-performance in terms of delivering shareholder returns relative to quoted competitors like William Hill, and especially Paddy Power.
In his letter to shareholders, Desmond outlined many of the shortcomings of the deal ...
