{"id":10123,"date":"2020-03-31T13:08:10","date_gmt":"2020-03-31T13:08:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onlinepokeramerica.com\/news\/?p=10123"},"modified":"2020-03-31T13:09:21","modified_gmt":"2020-03-31T13:09:21","slug":"tsg-and-flutter-on-track-to-complete-merger-after-regulatory-ok","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onlinepokeramerica.com\/news\/tsg-and-flutter-on-track-to-complete-merger-after-regulatory-ok\/","title":{"rendered":"TSG and Flutter on Track to Complete Merger After Regulatory OK"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
As most gambling worldwide has come to a halt, The Stars Group and\nFlutter Entertainment continue with their planned super-merger to create a new gaming\nbehemoth. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Across the Atlantic, the United Kingdom\u2019s Competition and Markets Authority<\/strong> (CMA)<\/strong> has given the go-ahead to a pending merger between Flutter Entertainment<\/em> (Paddy Power Betfair) and The Star Groups<\/em> (Sky Bet, PokerStars<\/a> et al). <\/p>\n\n\n\n The deal has been approved amid the sprawling coronavirus pandemic and\nhealth crisis overrunning the National Health System (NHS) in the UK and piling\npressure on U.S. hospitals. In this context, CMA has granted \u201cunconditional\nphase one clearance\u201d which effectively allows Flutter Entertainment to acquire\nshares in TSG.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The result company will be a gaming behemoth reporting an annual\nrevenue of $4.7 billion<\/strong>, although these targets may now need to be\nrevisited due to the COVID-19 outbreak. With the regulator\u2019s okay, the deal is\nback in TSG and Flutter shareholders who will have to convene and vote on the\ntransaction April 21 and April 24 respectively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, there are still regulators which have not given the greenlight, including the London<\/strong> Stock Exchange<\/strong> and Euronext Dublin<\/strong>, along with the UK Financial Conduct Authority<\/strong>. Regulatory approval is mandatory, as an Eldorado Resorts and Caesars Casino Corp<\/a>. merger may end up bankrupting Eldorado, as regulators have been struggling to allocate sufficient manpower to push the deal through in light of the latest economic crisis that looms, occasioned by the coronavirus outbreak.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Eldorado is expected to accumulate costs worth at least $100 million and\na failure to complete the merger would cost the company around $870 million. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Commenting on the latest developments and obtaining another approval\nFlutter CEO Peter Jackson<\/strong> said that the CMA\u2019s decision was an important\nmilestone and a step towards completing the merger.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe continue to work with the remaining international regulatory authorities to obtain the last of the outstanding approvals. Separately, last week we published the necessary documentation ahead of the shareholder votes in April and we continue to make good progress in our post-completion planning.\u201d<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n In the meantime, the companies have been working out the kinks, agreeing\nto appoint Divyesh Gadhia<\/strong> as deputy chair of the group once the merger\nis completed. TSG\u2019s Rafi Ashkenazi<\/strong> will become a non-executive\nconsultant and Richard Flint, Alfred Hurley Jr, David Lazzarato and Mary Turner\nwill step in as directors. <\/p>\n\n\n\n More shifts are expected within the group. The deal is not expected to\nhave a direct affect on PokerStars<\/strong> at first. TSG, the parent company for\nthe world\u2019s largest regulated cardroom, will focus on promoting sports betting\nas it remains the largest market in the United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, as more options become available to sportsbooks, so will online\ncasino and poker legislation begin to appear, analysts predict. In the United\nStates, there are several states that now allow online poker, and more are due\nto follow suite.<\/p>\n\n\n\nPokerStars Parent Company Obtains Another Regulatory Approval<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Flutter and TSG Remain Optimistic about Merger Despite Coronavirus Outbreak<\/h2>\n\n\n\n