Rank shareholders approve Gala Casinos acquisition
Almost 100% of shareholders back acquisition " Rank becomes largest land-based casino operator in UK following £205m deal.
Rank Group’s takeover of the bulk of Gala Coral’s land-based casino estate, received near-unanimous approval from shareholders, the operator has confirmed.
At a general meeting held today, 99.9% of voters backed the acquisition, with just 0.01% opposing it and the remainder abstaining.
The two parties reached a conditional agreement in May this year which would see G Casino owner Rank acquire 23 of Gala Coral’s casinos for a sum of £205m, bringing its total land-based casino estate up to 58 venues and seeing it overtake Genting as the owner of the largest estate in the country.
It marked an about-turn, following the breakdown of talks earlier in the year with Rank saying at the time “It became clear that the proposed terms of the acquisition would not serve the best interests of Rank’s shareholders.”
Those talks, which ultimately broke down in April, were based on a payment of £250m for 24 casinos, with Gala Coral set retain ownership of venues Dundee and Gibraltar.
Nine of the acquired venues will now be rebranded as G Casino outlets, and will see Rank Group expand into 11 UK cities for the first time, including Edinburgh and Nottingham.