BlackRock snaps up 4.7% stake in Ladbrokes

Investment management firm BlackRock has snapped up a 4.7% stake in Ladbrokes Plc, ahead of tomorrow’s full 2014 financial presentation. The financial firm took advantage of Ladbrokes’ share price dip at the start of the week to acquire its stake in the company.

The news of BlackRock’s investment in Ladbrokes has surprised London business analysts as yesterday investment bank Deutsche Bank warned investors that the operator faced further market share losses and declining profits in 2015.

Ladbrokes share price performance had reached a twenty year low at the start of January, as the operator faced new taxes on its online and retail operations in 2015. Thursday financial presentation will likely bring further bad news on the operator’s performance for the year ahead.

However city analysts have stated that the BlackRock team may have ‘called the bottom’ on the operator’s performance, as the financial investment firm will look for quick gains on Ladbrokes value and share price.

The operator is set to announce a new CEO to replace the outgoing Richard Glynn. It is expected that the new CEO will implement a new strategy to recapture market share lost to competitors William Hill and Paddy Power.

Ladbrokes ongoing declining performance has been the center of much speculation, as some business sources have speculated that the operator could still be a buyout target in the coming months.

However this week Deutsche Bank Analyst Richard Carter, backed his firm’s position by commenting to the Evening Standard Online:-“We now believe that the root of the problem is deeper and more structural than we had previously thought. It will require investment, probably further restructuring and even a strategic rethink.”