The Office of Fair Trade has decided to accept the undertakings offered by William Hill to address the competition concerns which arose from the completed acquisition of Stanley Leisure\’s betting shop estate.
“The loss of Stanley plc as a competitor in the supply of betting services through betting shops raised competition concerns in 78 local areas. This meant that choice for customers, who in most cases tend to place a bet at a betting shop within walking distance of their home or work, would have been either liminated or reduced. However, we are content that the divestments offered by William Hill plc will, when implemented, address our competition concerns in this transaction,” said Vincent Smith, Director of Competition Enforcement of the OFT.
In separate news, the OFT has also accepted undertakings offered by Hilton Group and its Ladbrokes betting division regarding the completed acquisition by them of Jack Brown Bookmakers.
The OFT has decided that in both cases the transactions will not be referred to the Competition Commission.
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