The Times’s“Commentary” column says that Ladbroke’s unconditionaloffer to purchase Coral betting shops from Bass could still be vetoed by the Monopolies and Mergers Commission. If this were to happen, the problem would be Ladbroke’s alone. If the company were to be forced into a fire sale then they would be unlikely to recoup the purchase price.
The Office of Fair Trading gives informal guidance on prospective deals of this kind but their approval does not guarantee that the Monopolies commission or the DTI will not raise objections. The Commission could decide that the rule stipulating that there must be competition within a quarter-mile rule was redundant.
- The Times 07/01/98 page 25 (Commentary)
