Paddy Power and Betfair to merge
Another massive online gambling partnership hit the books Wednesday morning, as sportsbook giants Betfair and Paddy Power reportedly agreed to merge in a £5 billion deal.
Final details of the merger are still being worked out, but Paddy Power shareholders will retain 52% of the combined business, while Betfair investors will own the remaining 48%, according to BBC News. Current Betfair chief executive Breon Corcoran, who formerly served as COO of Paddy Power, will become the CEO of the new firm.
“We fundamentally believe this industry is all about scale. By putting together two distinct but phenomenally strong brands, we’ll have a market-leading position in the U.K., Ireland, Australia and in the United States,” Corcoran told BBC News.
Paddy Power and Betfair ranked fifth and sixth in the world among interactive gambling companies in 2014 with gross gaming yields (GGY) of £438.6 million and £393.6 million, respectively. bet365 ranked first in GGY in 2014 at £1.28 billion.
The merger is the latest in a recent trend of consolidation of some of the biggest players in the online gambling industry.
In June 2014, Montreal-based Amaya Gaming purchased online poker power PokerStars and sister site Full Tilt Poker for a whopping $4.9 billion. This summer, has been in the middle of a tug-of-war battle between 888 Holdings and Holdings, who have each made offers for in excess of $1.4 billion.
