International gaming and leisure company, The Rank Group (Rank), has sold its film processing division, Deluxe Film for £430m, leaving it as a predominantly betting and gaming business.
Rank owns leading UK online and telephone betting business, Blue Square, the land-based Grosvenor Casinos chain, Mecca Bingo and Hard Rock.
The sale is one of the first stages of a review to establish an efficient capital structure suggesting the group is preparing for a potential takeover.
Rank has already held £4bn merger talks with William Hill which failed to come to fruition. However, analysts believe Rank a possible takeover target for the newly-separate Ladbrokes.
Greg Feehely, head of research at Altium Capital, said William Hill “clearly was unable to do a deal with Rank. Rank needs to find a home for its Hard Rock Cafes,” then Ladbrokes could take on the casinos and merge Blue Square with its online operations.
Deluxe’s sale will be followed by a movement to reduce the group’s borrowings and suggests Rank expects to cut its dividend to its shareholders implying a more profitable merger deal to a potential buyer.
sorce: egr magazine
