Flutter Group lifted by merger news

The price of shares in FTSE 100 bookmaker Flutter Group (LON:FLTR) has risen by 10.69% to 8,450p (as of 13:45 BST) after it reached an agreement for an all-share merger with Canadian outfit The Stars. Management said that the deal would bring together two complementary businesses to create a global leader in sports betting with a broad geographic reach.

Flutter’s CEO Peter Jackson commented: “The combination represents a great opportunity to deliver a step change in our presence in international markets and ensure we are ideally positioned to take advantage of the exciting opportunity in the US through a media relationship with FOX Sports as well as our development of US sports betting through Flutter’s FanDuel and TSG’s FOX Bet brands. We are committed to these two high quality brands to drive the growth of the Combined Group in the US.

The combination will turbocharge our existing four-pillar strategy and provide world-class capabilities across sports betting, gaming, daily fantasy sports and poker, as well as greater geographical and product diversification.

We believe the combination of Flutter and TSG will deliver substantial value for shareholders. We will have an exceptional portfolio of leading recreational brands and best-in-class products on industry-leading technology platforms“.