Ladbrokes-Coral offers stores to Betfred and Stan James
17 October 2016
Ladbrokes and Coral have agreed to bet9ja's welcome offer 359 stores to competing wagering firms in what they say is the "last significant obstacle" for their ₤ 2.7 bn merger.
Betfred, owned by billionaire Fred Done, will buy 322 stores and Stan James the other 37 for a total of ₤ 55.5 m.
Competition regulators ruled in July that Ladbrokes and Coral need to bet9ja's welcome offer 350-400 buy their merger to be cleared.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) will now assess the shop deals, external.
Jim Mullen, the president of Ladbrokes, said: "The sale of these stores will clear the last significant difficulty to delivering on the merger with Coral and leads the way for our concentrate on conclusion and quickly providing on the chances the merger uses."
The two bookies said they would look for approval from the CMA to complete the merger once they bet9ja's welcome offer one further shop.
Market leader
Ladbrokes and Gala Coral are the UK's 2nd and third biggest retail betting firms, behind William Hill.
Ladbrokes has about 2,150 outlets in Britain and 77 in Northern Ireland. Coral runs 1,850 shops in Britain.
A merger between the two would make them the UK's biggest High Street bookmaker.
However, William Hill is seeking its own tie-up with Canadian operator Amaya, owner of the PokerStars franchise, to keep up with the competition and strengthen its online offering.
It was commonly reported, external over the weekend that William Hill prepares to push ahead with the ₤ 4.5 bn offer despite misgivings from its biggest shareholder.
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Investors - Ladbrokes plc
