Rank has received clearance from the UK Competition Commission to buy 19 of the 23 Gala Casinos envisioned in its original deal, as well as three “cold” or non-operational licences.
The Competition Commission (CC) said the changes to the deal would preserve competition in the bricks ‘n’ mortar casino market in five areas of the UK: Aberdeen, Bristol, Cardiff, Edinburgh and Stockton-on-Tees.
In Edinburgh, Rank will also need to sell its own “cold” licence to a buyer approved by the CC, as well as being prohibited from buying the active Gala Casino in the Scottish capital.
Rank said today that it was continuing discussions with Gala Coral over “appropriate amendments” to the terms of the original deal agreed last July, which valued the 23 Gala Casinos at £205m. This lapsed in September after the CC opened its investigation into the merger’s potential to result in an “irreversible” loss of competition in the UK’s bricks ‘n’ mortar casino market.
CC deputy chairman and chairman of the Inquiry group, Professor Martin Cave, said the casinos excluded from the deal were all profitable standalone businesses, supporting their belief that the transaction proceeding on the new terms “will protect the interests of consumers.”
Rank told the London market today that it expects to make a further announcement shortly on the proposed deal.
The merger completing would see Rank’s Grosvenor Casinos chain grow to 53 properties, transforming the London-listed entertainment group into the UK’s largest bricks ‘n’ mortar casino operator ahead of Genting, which currently operates 44, soon to grow to 45 with the conversion of the Fox Poker Club.
Article written by Stephen Carter
