Apollo, an American private equity firm, is said to be working at making a last ditch effort to take over Gala Coral, the group that owns Gala Bingo.

The investment company have a submitted a proposal to the Gala board in which they would stump up £250 million in exchange for 50 percent of the company.  The gaming giant is said to be in debt to the tune of £2.6 billion and has already been in talks with another party, Blackstone, who are looking to  acquire a controlling stake in the company.  In addition, a group of Gala's junior lenders have been working on their own proposals to take over the company and reports from insiders suggests this is the favourite option on the table.

The Apollo equity firm are not new to the world of gaming and are big shareholders in Harrah's, the Las Vegas operator behind venues such as Caesars Palace.  If their proposal is accepted then the £250 million would be repaid to the senior lenders of Gala Coral and the junior lenders would be given the remaining 50 percent share in the company.  Apollo would have the majority voting rights under such a deal.

The main lenders are due to report their decision over the next few days on which proposal they prefer.  It is hoped that the deal can be completed over the next few months.