Private equity firm Charterhouse Development Capital came from the back of the field to win the race for Coral Eurobet on today, paying £860 million sterling($1.3 billion) for Britain's third-largest bookmaker.
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MGPE, Deutsche Bank's private equity arm, put Coral up for sale in May after rejecting a stock market float which would have run head-to-head with Britain's second-biggest betting shop chain William Hill.
William Hill's shares are trading around seven percent above their issue price of 225 pence on June 17th, despite a 13 percent fall in the wider UK market over the same time.
This partly reflects a broader interest in the gambling sector following the abolition of betting tax in Britain last October, and a surge in Internet gambling.
Coral, which runs 870 betting shops, posted a 90 per cent rise in core EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) in the 28 weeks to April 14th.
The firm said Chief Executive Bob Scott would step down on completion of the sale for personal reasons, and would be replaced by Managing Director Mr Vaughn Ashdown.
Completion is expected in September, pending approval by European Union regulators.
Founded in 1926, Coral was bought from leisure group Bass, now renamed Six Continents, in 1998 by Britain's largest betting shop chain Ladbrokes, now part of the Hilton Group, a deal which was later scuppered by UK regulators.
The sale was handled by Lehman Brothers.