Thu, 21 Feb 2013 | BUSINESS SALE
Rank has been granted permission to purchase 19 of Gala’s 23 UK casinos by the industry regulators.
The Competition Commission released their final report this week after a provisional ruling in December, which said Rank would have to sell a Liverpool casino, but it is now allowed to retain the venue.
Rank, which runs the Grosvenor Casinos and Mecca Bingo chains, initially agreed a £205 million deal to buy 23 Gala casinos and a further three operating licences in May. The move would have enabled Rank to dominate the UK market.
The industry watchdog said this week that Rank cannot take on four Gala sites in Aberdeen, Bristol, Cardiff and Stockton-on-Tees. These casinos generate about £4 million a year. Rank will also have to sell its ‘cold licence’ in Edinburgh, which is an unused right to run a casino.
Prof Martin Cave, deputy chairman at the Competition Commission told the Financial Times: “The excluded casinos are all profitable, and so we believe they will continue to act as viable competitors in these areas.”
If successful the acquisition will mean that Rank’s sole UK rival is Malaysian-owned Genting casinos.
It was previously reported that Gala Coral, owner of Gala, had been considering breaking up and disposing of its business back in February 2011, and that it would retain its core operations Coral bookmakers.
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