Rumors swell of Ladbrokes takeover bid for 888 Holdings

Bookmaker Ladbrokes, Plc. is poised to take over gaming company 888 Holdings as early as next week, reports U.K. newspaper "The Daily Mail."

Following months of buy-out rumors, the two companies had purportedly agreed to a £490 million bid, with a share offer somewhere between £140 and £150.

Online rivals including PartyGaming, Plc. and William Hill had also expressed an interest in the company prior to the industry shake-up caused by the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act passed by the U.S. government on Oct. 13.

The sale of 888 would make the two sets of brothers - Aaron and Avi Shaked and Shay and Ron Ben-Yitzhak - multimillionaires several times over as their portion of the business is said to be worth more than £300 million.

If the deal does go through, Ladbrokes would see greater profit from its poker site and save money through using in-house software requirements.

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