Rank group purchasing Gala Casinos

[baldidiot]

Heard about this from a few sources, but this is what I received by email:

Rank announces that it has conditionally agreed to acquire Gala Casinos from Gala Coral Group Limited (“Gala Coral Group”) for a total cash consideration of £205 million (the “Acquisition”).

The Acquisition includes 23 casinos in Great Britain and three non-operating licences. Gala Coral Group’s casinos in Dundee and Gibraltar, its non-operating licence for the City of Westminster (London) and all of the central management functions previously associated with Gala Casinos are not included in the scope of the Acquisition.

The Acquisition presents a significant opportunity for Rank to continue to deliver sustainable value to shareholders through the development of its successful casino portfolio:

· Creates the largest casino operator in Great Britain by number of casinos with 58 operating venues and 13 non-operating licences

o Strongly positioned to capture the long-term growth opportunities presented by the British casino sector

o Significant opportunity to deploy Rank’s proven management expertise across an enlarged portfolio

· Accelerates Rank’s programme of estate expansion in Grosvenor Casinos

o Rebranding of Gala casinos extends Grosvenor brand into 11 new cities

o Roll-out of the proven ‘G Casino’ format to nine Gala casino locations. The ‘G Casino’ roll-out has historically generated over 20% year two cash on cash returns

· Expected to be earnings enhancing for Rank in the first full financial year of ownership


Rank intends to finance the Acquisition along with its related costs and expenses with new three-year bank facilities totalling £175 million together with existing bank facilities.

[baldidiot]

Does anyone know if this is just the B&M casinos, or will any of the online properties change hands?

[iGamingWriter]

It's just the b&m properties.

[lowrisk]

Just FYI, they are still only in the talks stage, and in my opinion, it was very premature for Rank to send that out. The Gala brands online are unaffected, they are just selling off the land casinos.

[iGamingWriter]

Hey lowrisk - do you have a inside source on that? Spoke with my AM yesterday and got the impression this had been finialised.

[lowrisk]

Am for which brand? Rank or Gala?

[iGamingWriter]

Rank - it not really an issue as it doesn't affect my online stuff, but i have played a lot with both groups offline and am just curious.

[lowrisk]

I spoke with somebody at Gala, and they said it was "very early for Rank to be sending things like that"

[TheBoyMitchell]

The deal has been approved by the boards but needs to be ratified by the shareholders and mergers and legal people. Its only the B&M properties and doesnt include the Gala Casino in Gibraltar or Dundee. They are also keeping a licence to operate a Gala Casino in Central London. If everybody is happy with the deal it will be completed in Q3 of this year.

Additionally, Gala Casino online has been redeveloped to include a large swathe of Playtech games to compliment the existing offer and they are recruiting aggressively across the world to bring in the best AMs, Management and Retention staff. For too long it has been the opinion that Gala is a "sleeping giant" - a brand that is recognisable across the UK, but that hasnt really developed online. This is about to change and could be a good time for affiliates to start promoting it, as its likely that the number of players at Gala is substantially lower than at other UK branded operators like William Hill, Betfred, Ladbrokes et al.

[iGamingWriter]

Got to agree - my communication with the Gala affiliate team recently has left me feeling very positive, think that online is going to be a huge focus for the Gala group. They are now offering the full Playtech package - both instant and download.

[lowrisk]

Yeah, they have massively overhauled it, on the day of it going launched, I added it to my casino section, and it accidentally ended up on top position, I got a fair few accounts on that same day. Was good really, as Gala seemed to just have a big presence on the high street, if they are gonna be bigger online, it'll only serve to help us.

[Jelena]

Hi all,

I would like to note that the Press Releases that got sent by Rank were created jointly with Gala PR agency, approved from both sides. In the information that was sent out it also mentioned that the deal is yet to be finilised, but both companies work on an assumption that it will be approved in September. Sorry for the confusion that it might have caused.

Kind regards,
Jelena

[Louis - Income Access]

Hi Guys

Feel free to PM me if you want a deal for Gala casino, we're authorized to give out a special rates for quality casino traffic. If you want to speak directly to the AM, you can email monica.rangel@galacoral.com. Income Access works hand in hand with Gala so you'll get the same attention and commission rates either way.