The boards of Paddy Power and Betfair have announced that they have reached agreement on the terms of the of their all-share merger, first announced nearly two weeks ago, it will be called Paddy Power Betfair.
The main details remain the same – current Paddy Power shareholders will hold 52% of the merged entity; and Paddy Power shareholders are to benefit from a special dividend of €80m prior to completion of the deal.
Paddy Power Chairman, Gary McGann will chair the combined group, while current Betfair chief executive and finance director, Breon Corcoran and Alex Gersh respectively will assume these roles in the new group.
Some new details have emerged this morning though - significantly, the headquarters of the new group has been confirmed for Dublin.
The companies will continue to run operations in the UK.
The merged group says it expects to achieve annualised pre-tax cost benefits of approximately €50m to be achieved in full in the third year following completion - it’s expected to be completed during first quarter of 2016.
Gary McGann, Paddy Power chairman commented on the deal: "The merger of Paddy Power and Betfair will create a company of world class capability and people who will deliver substantial up-front synergies and a platform for very exciting business expansion."
