Ladbrokes-Coral offers shops to Betfred and Stan James

17 October 2016

Ladbrokes and Coral have accepted sell 359 shops to competing betting companies in what they say is the "last substantial hurdle" 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 must bet9ja's welcome offer 350-400 buy their merger to be cleared.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) will now evaluate the store offers, external.

Jim Mullen, the president of Ladbrokes, said: "The sale of these shops will clear the last substantial hurdle to providing on the merger with Coral and paves the way for our focus on completion and quickly providing on the chances the merger uses."

The two bookmakers stated they would seek approval from the CMA to finish the merger once they sell one additional store.

Market leader

Ladbrokes and Gala Coral are the UK's second 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 between the two would make them the UK's biggest 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 competition and boost its online offering.

It was extensively reported, external over the weekend that William Hill prepares to press ahead with the ₤ 4.5 bn deal regardless of misgivings from its largest shareholder.

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Investors - Ladbrokes plc