Bookie’s Swedish swoop

LADBROKES’S owner has agreed to buy a Swedish online gambling business for £250m just days after turning down an £8bn takeover bid by US casino giant MGM Resorts.

Entain said it hopes buying En labs will help build its presence in the fastgrowing Nordic and Baltic regions. It also lifted its earnings forecast after a strong end to the year as gamblers flocked online. It expects earnings of between £825m and £845m for 2020, up from previous guidance of £770m to £790m. Peel Hunt raised its price target on Entain from 1,600p to 1,800p ‘in light of the upgrade and the bid from MGM’.