SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
The planned £6.2 billion (€7.5 billion) Paddy Power/Betfair merger has entered its phase one probe by the Irish Competition & Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC).
Since the merger was first announced on the 25 of August, Paddy Power and Betfair governances’ have been working together to submit the planned proposal to the CCPC.
The CCPC will now review the operators’ plans to create a merged entity, which will trade on the London FTSE 100. The length of the merger review process will be dependent on any concerns or issues the CCPC may have with the operators’ combined proposals.
In September Paddy Power and Betfair confirmed that the terms and conditions of their merger had been agreed on
The merger will see Paddy Power agreeing to acquire Betfair assets at a value of £2.86 billion ($3.2 billion). Once completed the merger will result in Paddy Power shareholders owning 52% of the new entity, which will trade under the name Paddy Power Betfair.
Paddy Power shareholders are expected to formally vote on acquisition proceedings this December, if approved the companies will look to complete the merger by Q1 2016.
The merged entity will be head-quartered in Dublin, with Betfair CEO Breon Corcoran as its Chief Executive and Paddy Power CEO Andy McCue as Chief Group Operations Officer
