Horse racing

FTSE 250 sports betting and gaming group GVC Holdings has appointed 11 firms, including three of the Magic Circle, to its first ever formal legal panel.

Several of the firms on the panel are longtime advisers of either GVC or the companies it has taken over in recent years, which include bwin, Foxy Bingo, and most recently Ladbrokes Coral in 2017. But the combined company had a sprawling informal roster of about 40 firms that it wanted to slim down.

The new panel, which will run for three years, features Magic Circle firms Clifford Chance, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Slaughter and May.

GVC group legal director Michael Leadbeater told Legal Week, the U.K. arm of Law.com International, the trio were chosen for their "global expertise and clout". He added that Freshfields was a particularly attractive choice because of its "extensive" geographical footprint, and Slaughters due to its longstanding role as an adviser to Ladbrokes.

Slaughters M&A partner Andy Ryde added: "Ladbrokes were a very significant client of the firm over many years until they were acquired by GVC. Since then, we've been working hard to get to know GVC and we are delighted to have been appointed to their panel. We plan to bring something special to the table and to build a deep and lasting relationship."

Other firms to have won spots are: Addleshaw Goddard, Charles Russell Speechlys, Clyde & Co, Gowling WLG, Mishcon de Reya and Reed Smith, as well as specialist law firms Wiggin and Harold Benjamin.

Leadbeater described Mishcon, which was an adviser to Ladbrokes, as having a "very credible gambling practice", and highlighted the firm's understanding of the Gambling Commission's practices as a reason for their panel appointment.

Addleshaws, meanwhile, had historically been the main M&A adviser to GVC, with Leadbeater adding that the firm's "regional presence is also of attraction to us because you can get quality work done in a lower-cost centre". He added that Gowling WLG and specialist law firm Harold Benjamin have made the panel due to their expertise in property, as the group has a very significant real estate offering in operating 3,200 shops as of the end of 2019.

In total, 24 firms were invited to tender for the panel, according to Leadbeater. He told Law.com International that the roster will primarily focus on work coming from the U.K. headquarters.

GVC's panel review was put on hold in late 2017 following GVC's £3.9 billion bid for Ladbrokes Coral. For that merger, which came into effect in March 2018, Addleshaw Goddard took the lead role for GVC and Ashurst advised Ladbrokes Coral.

Commenting on the panel review process, Leadbeater said: "One of the reasons why it's taken quite a long time to sort it all out is because we effectively had four or five sets of relationships with different legal advisers, because now GVC is a consolidation of different companies".

In July 2018, GVC took up a $200 million joint venture with U.S. giant MGM Resorts, the owner of the Bellagio Hotel and Casino and the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. Latham & Watkins advised GVC on that transaction.