Paddy Power could get in the bidding too
Fred Done, owner of billion-dollar bookmaker Betfred, says the U.K. firm may be open to buying any shops that will be divested after the merger of rivals Ladbrokes and Gala Coral.
In an interview with the Sunday Telegraph, Done said he would be “absolutely” interested in adding to his portfolio, possibly buying as many as 500 shops. Last month Ladbrokes shareholders approved the £2.3 billion (US$3.5 billion) merger, which could require the merged company to sell off as many as 1,000 shops to avoid antitrust issues.
“We operate just short of 1,400 shops—another 400 or 500 shops wouldn’t be a problem to run,” he said. “If somebody knocks at my door and says, ‘Fred, do you want to buy some of these shops?’ I’d like to sit down with Coral and Ladbrokes and have a discussion with them.”
The Lads-Coral merger will create a new company, Ladbrokes Coral, the U.K.’s largest bookmaker with a total of 4,000 sites. Analysts say the new company will have a 45 percent share of the market by number of shops and 47 percent by revenues, reported the website Yogonet.com.
Done said other bookies like Paddy Power are likely to bid on the available shops, along with private equity firms and foreign buyers.
