Irish bookmaker Paddy Power has reached a merger agreement with online betting firm Betfair to create a company with revenues of more than £1.1bn.
The Irish bookmaker has 336 shops in the UK and 252 in Ireland, while Betfair is one of the world’s most popular online betting exchange portals. The merger would be a powerful “bricks and clicks” business within the sector.
Both companies are listed; the deal would see Paddy Power shareholders take a 52% stake in the enlarged company and Betfair shareholders a 48% stake.
The gambling market is seeing a flurry of mergers and acquisitions, with Ladbrokes and Gala Coral most notably in the process of a £2.3bn merger that would create a company with more than 4,000 shops. More than £7.6bn of mergers completed in the sector in the first six months of the year.
