A PYMNTS Company

UK: CMA pinpoints impact from bookmaker merger

By  |  July 26, 2016

The Competition and Markets Authority identified 642 local areas where it said the merger would hit competition. A merger between Ladbrokes and Gala Coral would make it the UK’s largest bookmaker.

Gala Coral has been owned by a group of private equity firms since 2010, when it collapsed under £2.5bn of debt. Currently, Coral runs 1,850 shops in Britain and Ladbrokes has about 2,150 outlets in Britain and 77 in Northern Ireland.

Ladbrokes agreed the terms of the all-share merger with Coral in July, and the company’s shareholders backed the deal in November.

Full Content: BBC

Want more news? Subscribe to CPI’s free daily newsletter for more headlines and updates on antitrust developments around the world.