Ladbrokes-Coral offers stores to Betfred and Stan James
17 October 2016
and Coral have actually agreed to sell 359 shops to competing betting companies in what they state is the "last considerable obstacle" for their ₤ 2.7 bn merger.
Betfred, owned by billionaire Fred Done, will 322 stores and the other 37 for an overall of ₤ 55.5 m.
Competition regulators ruled in July that Ladbrokes and Coral must offer 350-400 look for their merger to be cleared.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) will now evaluate the store deals, external.
Jim Mullen, of Ladbrokes, stated: "The sale of these stores will clear the last considerable hurdle to delivering on the merger with Coral and paves the way for our concentrate on conclusion and rapidly providing on the chances the merger provides."
The two bookies said they would look for from the CMA to complete the merger once they offer one .
Market leader
Ladbrokes and Gala Coral are the UK's 2nd and third betting companies, behind William Hill.
Ladbrokes has about 2,150 outlets in Britain and 77 in Northern Ireland. 1,850 shops in Britain.
A merger in between the two would make them UK's largest High Street bookie.
However, William Hill is its own tie-up with Amaya, owner of the franchise, to stay up to date with the competition and reinforce its online offering.
It was reported, over the weekend that William Hill prepares to push ahead with the ₤ 4.5 bn despite misgivings from its biggest shareholder.
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Investors - Ladbrokes plc
