Rank Takeover of Gala Coral Runs Into Competition Commission Problems

The long running saga of the Rank Group takeover of Gala Coral has taken a new twist with the news that the deal has run into trouble with the UK Competition Commission, to which it was passed by the Office of Faire Trading.

It seems that in the course of becoming the biggest betting firm in the country the expanded Rank Group will need to shed 6 of the existing Gala Coral casinos.

Problems in Various Regions

Gala has 23 casinos across the land and the areas in which the Competition Commission has highlighted potential problems are Aberdeen, Cardiff, Bristol, Liverpool and Stockton on Tees.  There are also worries about the impact of this deal in Edinburgh, where the firm would be looking to open a new casino. The fear stated by Professor Martin Cave of the commission is that the takeover could leave “much reduced competition” in these places.

Because of this the takeover plan has been rejected in a provisional ruling and it looks as though a different approach needs to be taken.

As well as the possibility of selling 6 of their newly bought casinos, there is also the chance that the Rank Group bosses decide to simply only buy 17 or the 23 casinos, which would presumably make the deal less expensive for them.   

Of course, the purchase has been on the cards for a long time already and it was only in September than an agreement was reached which would have seen all 23 of the Gala casinos and a licence to run another 3 change hands for £205 million.