Ladbrokes-Coral Sells Shops to Betfred and Stan James

Ladbrokes-Coral sells stores to Betfred and Stan James

17 October 2016

Ladbrokes and Coral have actually concurred to sell 359 shops to rival betting companies in what they state is the "last significant obstacle" for their ₤ 2.7 bn merger.

Betfred, owned by billionaire Fred Done, will purchase 322 stores and Stan James the other 37 for an overall of ₤ 55.5 m.

Competition regulators ruled in July that Ladbrokes and Coral need to bet9ja's welcome offer 350-400 their merger to be cleared.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) will now examine the shop offers, external.

Jim Mullen, the chief executive of Ladbrokes, stated: "The sale of these stores will clear the last significant hurdle to providing on the merger with Coral and leads the way for our concentrate on completion and quickly delivering on the chances the merger uses."

The two bookies said they would seek approval from the CMA to finish the merger once they bet9ja's welcome offer one additional shop.

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 stores in Britain.

A merger between the 2 would make them the yohaig code UK's largest High Street bookie.

However, William Hill is seeking its own tie-up with Canadian operator Amaya, owner of the PokerStars franchise, to keep up with the competitors and reinforce its online offering.

It was widely reported, external over the weekend that William Hill prepares to press ahead with the ₤ 4.5 bn deal in spite of misgivings from its largest investor.

Ladbrokes-Coral must sell 350-400 shops

26 July 2016

William Hill investor snubs merger plan

14 October 2016

Investors - Ladbrokes plc