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Betfred, Stan James Buy Ladbrokes-Gala Coral Betting Shops
- Updated: October 20, 2016
Betfred and Stan James are the beneficiaries from the Competition and Markets Authority’s (CMA) ruling that Ladbrokes and Gala Coral must sell 359 betting shops for them to authorize their proposed £2.3 billion merger.
Independent bookmaker Betfred will purchase 322 shops for £55 million in cash, with Stan James taking control of 37 shops that it will pay £500,000 cash for.
“The sale of these shops will clear the last significant hurdle to deliver on the merger with Coral and paves the way for our focus on completion and quickly delivering on the opportunities the merger offers,” said Jim Mullen, chief executive of Ladbrokes.
In accordance with this £55.5 million deal, Ladbrokes must sell 185 betting shops and Coral the remaining 174. The proceeds from the sale are to be used to repay combined corporate debt. Even after selling these 359 shops, when Ladbrokes and Coral merge they will by far the largest high street bookmaker in the United Kingdom with at least 1,000 shops more than the next biggest bookmaker William Hill.
The news is a blow to Irish bookmaker Boylesports who reports suggested were hoping to add to their portfolio of more than 200 betting shops.
Stan James, whose online business was purchased for £19 million by Unibet in October 2015, is primarily an online and mobile gambling company, but it does have more 90 betting shops throughout the U.K. Adding 37 former Ladbrokes and Coral shops to its portfolio should help boost its financial …
