Flutter may have to Sell its Brands to Survive Competition Scrutiny over Stars Group Mega-Merger

Flutter Entertainment and The Stars Group have announced a £10 billion all-share combination that will create the world’s largest online gaming and sports betting group by revenue, earlier this month. According to the analysts, Flutter Entertainment could be forced to sell its brands, including its flagship one Paddy Power, in order to get competition authorities’ blessing to complete the merger.

According to indie financial services firm Canaccord Genuity, Flutter, whose investors will hold a 55% stake in the combined entity, could be ordered to sell both retail and online brands in order to get approval from UK’s Competition and Markets Authority to complete the deal.

Canaccord Genuity analysts say that the most “logical decision” would be for Flutter to sell Paddy Power’s online and retail business, given the importance of The Stars Group’s presence in lucrative markets such the US sports betting market through its BetStars and Sky Bet brands.

Canaccord Genuity says that the sale of Paddy Power would certainly be an “emotionally difficult decision” as the combined group’s plan is to have its headquarters in Dublin where Paddy Power has been based since its inception in the late 1990s.

According to Morgan Stanley analysts, the combined entity’s online betting revenue will be 50% higher than rival bet365’s and about twice as large as that of GVC Holdings, the owner of Ladbrokes Coral and a plethora of other popular brands.

The combination of the two gambling giants is expected to close in the second half of 2020 pending regulatory approval.