Is Ladbrokes Going After Rank Group?

Published: Sunday, October 16, 2005 Online-Casinos.com

IS LADBROKES GOING AFTER RANK GROUP?

Or is the hunt aimed at Ladbrokes...

British betting giant Ladbrokes, the gambling arm of Hilton Group, is understood to be considering a bid for Rank Group, the GBP 2.5 billion owner of Mecca Bingo, Grosvenor Casinos and internet gambling interests, once its proposed demerger from Hilton's hotel arm is completed.

However, The Times reports this week that there are strong speculative rumours that a number of top private equity firms were already preparing to approach Hilton about buying Ladbrokes, which is worth about GBP 3.7 billion and has 2,570 shops in the UK, the Channel Islands, the Irish Republic and Belgium. CVC Capital Partners and Charterhouse have been tipped as contenders.

The focus on the company comes after an announcement that Hilton Group, which owns the rights to the Hilton name outside the United States, is in talks to sell its hotel business to America's Hilton Hotels Corporation (HHC) for an estimated GBP 3.6 billion.

Existing shareholders would retain ownership of a quoted Ladbrokes in the wake of such a deal.

The continued consolidation of the gambling industry could be a possibility if Ladbrokes went after Rank. The recent acquisition of Coral Eurobet by Gala, the casino and bingo operator, has created a gambling behemoth combining betting shops, bingo clubs and casinos, and buying Rank would turn Ladbrokes into a very similar company.