UK CMA approves Flutter-Stars merger

The UK Competitions and Markets Authority (CMA) has given the green light for the merger between The Stars Group (TSG) and Flutter Entertainment to go ahead, clearing ‘phase 1′ of its competition review.

Last October, Flutter and TSG agreed to terms on an all-share combination, as the two companies set about creating the outright global market leader operating across all online gambling verticals. The CMA confirmed today that this combination has been ‘unconditionally cleared’ following the CMA’s Phase 1 review under the Enterprise Act 2002.

Welcoming the announcement, Peter Jackson, Chief Executive, said: “This morning’s announcement from the CMA marks a further important milestone in the process towards completion of our proposed combination with The Stars Group.

“We continue to work with the remaining international regulatory authorities to obtain the last of the outstanding approvals. Separately last week we published the necessary documentation ahead of the shareholder votes in April and we continue to make good progress in our post-completion planning.”

The proposed transaction remains subject to approval by Flutter shareholders at its extraordinary general meeting on 21 April 2020 and by The Stars Group shareholders on 24 April 2020.

The merger is also awaiting the approval from ‘a small number of other regulatory bodies, some of whom have indicated that their usual timeframes may be delayed by the current COVID-19 crisis’.

Full Content: Gov UK

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