Caledonia Investments have announced plans to buy Gala Bingo Holdings from Gala Coral, in a deal worth £241 million.
Gala Coral signed a merger with rival Ladbrokes in July, in a deal that created the country’s biggest betting group. Gala Bingo operates 130 clubs with more than 1.1 million active members.
However, the takeover will not include Gala Coral’s online presence, galabingo.com, Caledonia said in a statement on Monday.
Gala said the sale of the clubs would help to pave the way for the deal, which is subject to approval by regulators. Gala Coral Group is currently owned by a set of private equity companies, including Apollo Management and Cerberus Capital Management.
The betting and gaming sector has seen a string of high profile deals over recent months, as companies club together to beat higher taxes and stricter legislation. This year alone saw mergers between both Betfair and Paddy Power and online firm 888 and Bwin.
