22/01/2007 Ladbrokes Acquires Nordic Partner

22 January 2007... Ladbrokes plc today announces that it has acquired Sponsio Ltd, its online betting and gaming partner in Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland.

The acquisition is aimed at strengthening Ladbrokes' position in the Nordic region, where per capita spend on gambling is among the highest levels in Europe.

Ladbrokes will pay an initial consideration of £36 million to acquire the company, with an additional £4 million due if future growth targets are achieved in the region. The acquisition will be earnings enhancing in the first year of ownership.

Ladbrokes signed a partnership agreement with Sponsio Ltd in 2001 to expand the Ladbrokes business in the Nordic region. Today the Nordic countries together represent the biggest earning region for Ladbrokes eGaming outside of the UK.

Following the acquisition, Douglas Roos, current Managing Director of Sponsio Ltd will head up Ladbrokes' Scandinavian division. Ladbrokes aims to build on the historic success of the partnership with the Sponsio team and expand the range of localised betting and gaming opportunities available to customers across the region.

John O'Reilly, Managing Director of Ladbrokes Remote Betting and Gaming commented: "Working with Sponsio has enabled Ladbrokes to become one of the leading online betting and gaming companies in the Nordic region. Having benefited from their local expertise, we are now consolidating our Nordic operations and will continue to drive successful online growth throughout Scandinavia."

Bertil Knutsson of Sponsio Ltd commented: "We are proud of both the success that we have achieved and the brand recognition that Ladbrokes now commands in the Nordic region. We feel that this deal will help Ladbrokes increase its market share and serve its Nordic customers even better."

For further information contact:

Head of Public Relations
Ciaran O'Brien
Tel: + 44 (0) 7976 180 173

Head of Investor Relations
Julian Arlett
Tel: +44 (0) 7976 348 913