Monday 17 October 2016 7:28 am

Ladbrokes and Gala Coral sell 359 shops as deal nears completion

Ladbrokes and Gala Coral are selling 359 betting shops between them, in order to satisfy conditions set by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) ahead of their merger.

The CMA ordered the bookmakers to sell up shops earlier this year, in order to maintain competition in the market when the two groups combine, in a £2.3bn deal that was first announced last July.

Ladbrokes will sell 185 stores, while Gala Coral sells 174, for a total expected consideration of £55.5m.

Betfred will purchase 322 shops for a cash consideration of £55m and Stan James will purchase 37 shops for a cash consideration of £0.5m. The CMA must also approve these sales before they can complete.

Once this approval has been received, Ladbrokes said, the firms will seek the CMA's consent to complete the merger "subject to the divestiture of one remaining shop".

Following receipt of this approval, Ladbrokes will publish a prospectus in relation to the readmission of the enlarged group to the premium listing segment of the Financial Conduct Authority's official list and to trading on the London Stock Exchange. It is expected that completion of the merger will take place in the near future.

"The sale of these shops will clear the last significant hurdle to delivering on the merger with Coral and paves the way for our focus on completion and quickly delivering on the opportunities the merger offers," said Ladbrokes boss Jim Mullen.