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William Hill to buy Stanley betting outlets

Monday, May 16, 2005 | 9:40 a.m.

William Hill Plc, the U.K.'s second-largest bookmaker, agreed to buy Stanley Leisure Plc's betting shops for 504 million pounds ($930 million) to overtake Ladbrokes as the country's industry leader.

The purchase of Stanley's 624 betting offices will create a chain of 2,237 bookmakers, London-based William Hill said today in a Regulatory News Service statement. Ladbrokes, owned by Hilton Group Plc, runs about 1,900 bookmaking shops in the U.K.

"This acquisition represents a rare opportunity for William Hill to substantially increase its distribution reach, whilst simultaneously realizing benefits of scale," William Hill Chief Executive David Harding said in the statement.

William Hill is focusing on expanding its bookmaking operations after the government limited opportunities to expand into casinos. The company abandoned plans to return 453 million pounds to shareholders because of the acquisition.

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