Competition authorities plan to review the £10 billion (US$12.9 billion) merger between the two gambling groups Flutter, owner of Paddy Power, and Stars Group, which owns Sky Betting and Gaming, reported the Financial Times.
The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) announced it would investigate whether the deal would result in a “substantial lessening of competition” in the UK gambling market.
The probe follows the CMA’s controversial last-minute intervention into a merger between the food delivery platforms Just Eat and Takeaway.com, which forced the companies to reconsider the timetable for the deal.
An investigation into the deal between Flutter and Stars, which was announced in October, had been expected by some, given recent moves by the CMA to focus more on competition online.
Brands controlled by Flutter and Stars make up around 40% of the UK’s online sports betting market. Analysts at Redburn estimated that the two companies control around 26% of the overall online gambling market in the UK, close to the 25% threshold over which the CMA takes an interest.
Full Content: Financial Times
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