The offer, agreed to by both boards of directors, was announced to the Australian and London stock exchanges in joint statements, and will be funded by a fully underwritten share issue and convertible bond issue.

The acquisition is expected to establish Sportingbet as the leading corporate betting provider (by amounts wagered) in Australia. The group already has over two million customers in 30 markets across Australia, Europe, Canada, South America and South Africa.

Addisons partners Jamie Nettleton and David Selig acted on the transaction, assisted by Li-Jean Chew and Michael Camilleri.

Nabarro and Berwin Leighton Paisner advised Sportingbet in the UK, while Clifford Chance advised Centrebet.