Ladbrokes-Coral offers 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 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 an overall of ₤ 55.5 m.

Competition regulators ruled in July that Ladbrokes and Coral should sell 350-400 look for their merger to be cleared.

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

Jim Mullen, the primary executive of Ladbrokes, stated: "The sale of these stores will clear the last substantial obstacle to delivering on the merger with Coral and leads the way for our focus on conclusion and quickly providing on the chances the merger offers."

The 2 bookies stated they would look for approval from the CMA to finish the merger once they sell one more store.

Market leader

Ladbrokes and Gala Coral are the UK's 2nd and third largest 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 in between the two 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 yohaig code PokerStars franchise, to stay up to date with the competitors and bolster its online offering.

It was extensively reported, external over the weekend that William Hill plans to press ahead with the ₤ 4.5 bn bet9ja's welcome offer despite misgivings from its biggest investor.

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