The UK’s second-biggest bookmaker William Hill Plc agreed to buy about 624 betting offices of its rival Stanley Leisure Plc in a race to overtake Ladbrokes, the nation’s industry leader.

William Hill will buy Stanley’s betting shops for about 504 million pounds ($930 million), the company said in a statement. The acquisition, that is expected to create a chain of 2,237 bookmakers, will help William Hill to expand on the market at a time when horse racing and soccer results are unfavorable for the industry. This will help it compete with Ladbrokes, owned by Hilton Group Plc that runs about 1,900 bookmaking shops in the U.K.

``The price, which reflects the significant synergies available to William Hill, is a very attractive one,’’ Stanley Chief Executive Bob Wiper said in a statement.

Under the terms, William Hill will not proceed with plans to return 453 million pounds to shareholders as a result of the acquisition, the company said in a statement. As a result, about 13 million pounds of cost will be saved in fiscal 2006, adding to William Hill’s per-share earnings in that year.

’This acquisition represents a rare opportunity for William Hill to substantially increase its distribution reach, whilst simultaneously realising benefits of scale,’ William Hill’s chief executive David Harding said in a statement.