Over 400 shops to be sold as part of £2.3bn Ladbrokes-Coral merger
Bookies Ladbrokes and Coral look set to find out exactly how many branches they must sell this week as part of their £2.3bn merger.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) verdict on the deal is expected in the coming days, with The Sunday Telegraph reporting that the watchdog will order the combined firm to offload between 400 and 500 locations.
In mid April, Morning Wire reported that between 300 to 500 shops were likely to be sold off as part of the merger. According to a report by the Daily Telegraph, that range has narrowed and a veto on the transaction is also thought to be unlikely.
The CMA is likely to require the branches to be sold to smaller competitors, rather than being closed, in order to maintain high street competition.
Ladbrokes confirmed it would merge with rival Gala Coral in a £2.3bn deal last July.
With an expected 4,000 shops, Ladbrokes Coral would overtake William Hill which has just under 2,400 shops in the UK to become the biggest high street betting agent, with net revenues of £2.1bn.
A Ladbrokes spokesman said: “We are working with the CMA and awaiting their provisional findings.”