LONDON, Oct 17 (Reuters) - British Ladbrokes andGala Coral said they agreed to sell 359 shops for 55.5 millionpounds ($69 million) to rivals, in a deal which will reducetheir footprint and pave the way for competition authorities toallow their merger to proceed.
The pair were told in July they must sell around 350 to 400shops in order to obtain clearance for their proposed merger.
Ladbrokes agreed the terms of a 2.3 billion pound all-sharemerger with Coral in July 2015, and shareholders backed the dealin November.
Under the shop sale deal, which is conditional uponcompletion of the merger, rival bookmaker Betfred will buy 322shops for 55 million pounds, while Stan James will purchase 37shops for 500,000 pounds.
($1 = 0.8042 pounds) (Reporting by Sarah Young, Editing by Paul Sandle)