Ladbrokes should play a waiting game with 888

A punter watches a race in a Ladbrokes betting shop. The group has been in talks with 888 for seven weeks. Photograph: David Sillitoe for the Guardian

The old rule says that the longer takeover negotiations drag on, the less likely they are to succeed. It is now seven weeks since Ladbrokes said it was talking to 888.com, the online poker and casino group. Even allowing for the holiday season, that's a long time, which is one reason why outsiders doubt whether Ladbrokes' chief executive, Richard Glynn, really wants to stake his chips on 888

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