Paddy Power And Betfair, GVC And Bwin.Party Mergers Complete

LONDON (Alliance News) - Two big mergers occurred in the betting industry on Tuesday as the takeover by Paddy Power PLC of Betfair Group PLC and by GVC Holdings PLC of bwin.party digital entertainment PLC were both completed.

Shares in both Betfair and bwin have now been cancelled and trading under the new merged companies has begun.

Irish bookmaker Paddy Power bought rival Betfair last year in a deal creating one of the world's largest online gambling firms with combined revenue of around GBP1.10 billion. The newly-merged company now trades under the name Paddy Power Betfair PLC.

GVC, meanwhile, bought larger FTSE 250-listed rival bwin in a deal valuing the latter at around GBP1.12 billion. GVC will now trade on the London Main Market.

Shares in GVC were trading up 8.4% at 506.13 pence on Tuesday morning, while Paddy Power Betfair shares were flat at EUR141.10.

By Karolina Kaminska; karolinakaminska@alliancenews.com @KarolinaAllNews

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