Paddy Power, Betfair to merge - World's Biggest Online Gaming Company?

Paddy Power and Betfair, two of the world’s biggest gaming companies, have agreed to a merger that would make them an even larger online gaming giant. Here’s a look at the t company’s first statement following the agreement:

“The boards of Paddy Power and Betfair are pleased to announce that they have reached an agreement in principle on the key of a possible merger of Paddy Power and Betfair to create Paddy Power Betfair plc. The possible merger would create one of the world’s largest public online betting and gaming companies by revenue with enlarged scale, capability and distinctive and complementary brands.”

The new company will be called Paddy Power Betfair, with Paddy shareholders maintaining a 52 percent stake in the business while Betfair owners will have a 48 percent share. And it’s very possible that, with both sides complimenting each other so well, they could potentially have the world’s largest online gaming operation.

“The combination has compelling strategic logic and represents an attractive opportunity for both companies to enhance their position in online betting and gaming and to deliver synergies, customer benefits and shareholder value,” the statement adds.

Interestingly enough, both brands will remain separate as part of the deal, but also work off each other to build both entities. Prior to the merger, each company had significant operations in sports betting, online casino and online poker; but Betfair probably has the edge in the latter two, while Paddy Power has a massive sports betting customer base. One more point worth making here is that each company made €1.5 billion in revenue in recent years.

As for the board structure of Paddy Power Betfair, Paddy Chairman Gary McGann will serve as the new company’s Chairman of the Board while Betfair CEO Breon Corcoran will be the new venture’s CEO. Interestingly enough, Corcoran was Paddy’s previous COO before moving to Betfair to be their CEO.

The merger between Paddy Power and Betfair is the latest in a series of big moves that have seen iGaming giants formed. In 2011, bwin and Party Gaming merged to form bwin.party, with both companies experiencing a financial downturn afterward. Now 888 and GVC Holdings are locked in a bidding war to buy bwin.party and create another massive gaming company; GVC currently has the largest bid at $1.55 billion.