Ladbrokes-Coral sells stores to Betfred and Stan James
17 October 2016
Ladbrokes and Coral have actually accepted sell 359 shops to rival wagering companies in what they say is the "last considerable hurdle" for their ₤ 2.7 bn merger.
Betfred, owned by billionaire Fred Done, will buy 322 shops and Stan James the other 37 for an overall of ₤ 55.5 m.
Competition regulators ruled in July that Ladbrokes and Coral need to offer 350-400 shops for their merger to be cleared.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) will now assess the store deals, external.
Jim Mullen, the chief executive of Ladbrokes, said: "The sale of these shops will clear the last significant difficulty to providing on the merger with Coral and paves the way for our focus on conclusion and quickly providing on the chances the merger offers."
The 2 bookmakers stated they would seek approval from the CMA to complete the merger once they bet9ja's welcome offer one further store.
Market leader
Ladbrokes and Gala Coral are the UK's second and third largest retail wagering 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 yohaig code 2 would make them the UK's largest High Street bookmaker.
However, William Hill is seeking its own tie-up with Canadian operator Amaya, owner of the PokerStars franchise, to stay up to date with the competition and strengthen its online offering.
It was commonly reported, external over the weekend that William Hill plans to push ahead with the ₤ 4.5 bn deal regardless of misgivings from its largest investor.
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Investors - Ladbrokes plc
