SOURCE: Reuters

(London, England) — Britain's Competition Commission said on Friday that it had provisionally cleared football pools operator Sportech Plc's (SPO.L: Quote, Profile , Research) acquisition of the Vernons pools business.

Sportech's proposed purchase of Vernons from betting group Ladbrokes Plc (LAD.L: Quote, Profile , Research), a deal bringing together Britain's two biggest pools operators, was referred to the Competition Commission in May.

Sportech already owns the Littlewoods version of the pools, a system that allows punters the chance to bet on the outcome of a series of football matches.

"Although Littlewoods and Vernons pools provide customers with similar products, we found little evidence that customers have switched between the two in the past," Competition Commission Inquiry Chairman Peter Davis said in a statement.

"(W)e provisionally conclude that Littlewoods and Vernons are not exercising a substantial competitive constraint on each other, and therefore allowing the merger would not result in a substantial lessening of competition," he added.

Sportech welcomed the decision and said it would continue to work with the Competition Commission through to its final decision, which has to be made by Oct. 17.

Shares in Sportech closed at 13 pence on Thursday, valuing the company at around 77 million pounds ($155 million).