Grand Met Agrees to Sell Betting Shops for $1 Billion

Grand Metropolitan PLC said Tuesday that it has signed an agreement to sell its interests in the William Hill and Mecca betting shops to Brent Walker PLC for about $1.06 billion.

The agreement, which had been widely anticipated, is subject to approval by shareholders of Brent Walker, a British leisure industry company, and clearance by Britain’s Office of Fair Trading.

The sale of the betting shops is part of a corporate restructuring at Grand Met, a giant British food and liquor group that is aiming to focus its core businesses and reduce its high level of debt after its $5.8-billion acquisition of the Minneapolis-based food maker Pillsbury Co. last January.

Brent Walker, a British leisure and drinks concern, said it would pay 685 million pounds in cash for the William Hill and Mecca bookmaking businesses.