Paddy Power Casino and Betfair first mooted a merger a couple of months ago, but since then the story disappeared from the press. Now though, the story is once more seeing the light of day. This is because over the last few months, the deal has been awaiting clearance. It can now be reported that that clearance has been given and with the deal approved, the mega merger can now proceed.
Clearance Given
Several sizeable mergers have been confirmed over the past year, so when in August these two giants announced that they were considering joining forces, nobody was terribly surprised. It is a dog eat dog world of late, so the importance of being able to compete with their rivals has forced several mergers.
Signed Off
Paddy Power was one of the first high street betting offices to join the online gambling world, and Betfair was the first online betting exchange. Together it is though that they will come up with something rather special. The deal is still awaiting the approval by the Consumer & Competition Protection Commission, and by the courts, but the Competition Markets Authority and the shareholders of both companies have signed off on the deal.
Cuts Forecast
If everything should go as planned, the merger would be expected to be complete by the end of the first quarter. A lot of cuts are forecast as the new merged company will plan to save £50 million, whilst keep the company competitive on the high street and in the online gambling world.
Decisions to Come
Controversy as always been the strong suit of Paddy Power, especially when it comes to their marketing campaigns. Whether or not there will be a few controversial decisions to come to put the skids on this deal remain to be seen.