Betfred to acquire the Tote

The Guardian newspaper reports that the long-running auction for the state-owned The Tote gambling company is over at last…and online and land gambling tycoon Fred Done of Betfred is the winner.
The BBC has confirmed the newspaper’s reports that the UK Sports and Culture Secretary, Jeremy Hunt, is to make an official statement Friday awarding the deal to Betfred.
The final agreement is yet to be formally signed, but technicalities are expected to be sorted out by Friday, the BBC revealed, with unconfirmed reports suggesting that the consideration paid by Betfred is expected to be around GBP 200 million.
Half the money will go to the racing industry and racing charities, according to previous statement from government spokesman, and the rest will go to the UK government.
The latest selling process began six months ago with 18 bidders, and after a process of elimination Betfred and Sports Investments Partners – an consortium of investors headed by British Airways chairman Sir Martin Broughton – were left in contention, with the racing industry coming out publicly in favour of SIP.
Government efforts to sell off the Tote, which was founded in 1928, go back some 10 years.

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