Last week it was Nine Entertainment Co (NEC) and Southern Cross Austereo (SXL) getting a sudden burst of support on takeover talk rumours appearing in the media, only to be knocked down.
On Saturday it was media talk (in the same publication) that gaming giants Tabcorp (TAH) and Tatts Group (TTS) were talking about a merger.
But yesterday that story was killed off when it was confirmed they had held merger talks, but could not agree on terms for a deal.
Tabcorp said in a statement to the ASX yesterday that the companies “were unable to mutually agree acceptable terms and those discussions have ended”.
"There are no further discussions taking place between the parties relating to a merger or any other form of corporate transaction."
It is understood a fall in Tabcorp shares since a soft trading update on October 29 was a major issue in the talks (For the Nine Southern Cross talks, it was a spike in Southern cross’s share price which saw the talks abandoned).
Tabcorp shares have dropped more than 10% since the update.
TAH vs TTS 1Y – Bets off on Tabcorp, Tatts merger
There had been rising media speculation (based on reports from investment analysts) that a deal between Tabcorp (which runs the TABs in Victoria and NSW) and Tatts (which runs the tote in Queensland, South Australia and the Northern Territory) was on the cards.
But some reports had started talking about Tabcorp buying Tatts Group’s wagering division (both wagering businesses have been hit by the rise of corporate gambling businesses in Australia such as William Hill and Ladbrokes).
However, the merger talks examined a full merger between the two companies.
Yesterday Tabcorp shares eased 0.6% to $4.39 and Tatts shares rose 3.3% to $4.05.
