Paddy Power Betfair merger approved by Irish regulator
Deal clears final regulatory approval after Competition and Consumer Complaints Commission gives the green light
The mega-merger between Paddy Power and Betfair has cleared its final regulatory hurdle after the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission in Ireland gave the deal the green light.
The Commission said it had taken the view that the merger would not “substantially lessen competition in any market for goods or services” but would provide more details on its reasoning in the coming days.
The news comes after Paddy Power and Betfair shareholders comprehensively voted in favour of the deal back in December, just days after the UK Competition Markets Authority also approved the merger.
Shareholder approval came after it was revealed both operators would make significant cuts to their combined workforce in order to achieve half of planned ?50m cost synergies.
According to a shareholder circular, ?25m would be saved by reducing headcount, with the other half coming from non-payroll efficiencies in IT, property, services and marketing.
The merger is set to complete on February 2, just one day after GVC Holding’s ?1.2bn takeover of bwin.party completes on 1 February.