Rank Share Discussion Threads

[scrapman] 24/5/2011 11:15

well , pathetic volumes now , suppose anyone who was getting out has gone ,

Logan , any idea of what the timeframe will be from here on in

suspect we will not have a lot of choice somehow

[killieboy] 20/5/2011 16:43

Offer doc arrived yesterday - straight in the bin.

[loganair] 20/5/2011 15:23

Peel Hunt have repeatedly reported that if Rank are successful in keeping all their VAT rebates then they are worth over 200p per share.

The 150p bid, I've had no offer document as yet so quite a few weeks until it lapses puts a definate floor underneath the share price.

[spower1461] 20/5/2011 15:14

If the Gucco bid has lapsed at the 150p level how is there share going to go anywhere other than treading water.

No one else is going to come along and make a bid as Gucco hold enought to prevent that (imho).

Only way is therefore through increased vale, and that is not overly likely in this climate.

Will Gucco simply wait another twelve months watching this go nowhere with the price drifting down and then make a bid at a steal of a proce (170p say)?

Anyone any views on this please.

[loganair] 18/5/2011 17:57

I notice in this weeks IC, their article was just a précis of the Rank RNS bid rejection. Was surprised no actual IC comment.

What worries me is that the board of Rank are only saying what Goldmans Sachs, ie Guoco, want them to say.

What I'm questioning is the independence of the board of Rank as Goldmans have been operating on both sides of the fence. Goldmans have operated exclusively for both sides now so how can their advice be independent???

[scrapman] 18/5/2011 14:08

Seems very strange turn re GS Logan , Poacher turns gamekeeper , or just making sure no one else sees the books ??

[loganair] 17/5/2011 15:29

RNS Number : 6965A
Rank Group PLC
05 August 2008


The Rank Group Plc

Change of Approach to Notification of Major Interest in Shares - Adoption of DTR 5.1.3R(2) Custodian Exemption by The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc.

On 5 August 2008, the Company received notification from The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. ("GS Inc") that, with effect from 31 July 2008, GS Inc was no longer including in its aggregate notifiable holding, the position held by Goldman, Sachs & Co.,

[loganair] 17/5/2011 15:23

"Goldman Sachs International, which is authorised and regulated in the United Kingdom by the Financial Services Authority, is acting exclusively for Rank and for no-one else in connection with the offer"

Now this is very strange as anyone who has been following Guoco buying of shares in Rank will know that Goldman Sachs where buying and holding on behalf of Guoco and why there was a dual holding and an RNS some 30 months ago stating that any holding that Goldmans had on behalf of Guoco would no longer be reported and that just Guoco would report any increase via and RNS.

And now Goldmans is acting exclusively on behalf of Rank when Goldmans had be acting exclusively on behalf of Guoco when Guoco were building their stake in Rank.

[loganair] 13/5/2011 16:09

Threadneedle........3.78% (New Major share holding)
Chau Ma Yu..........2.95% (Malaysian Investor)
Old Mutual AM (UK)..2.76%
Sisu Capital........2.10% (Private Hedge Fund)
FIL.................2.03%
Lloyds..............1.42%
JP Morgan...........1.35%
Norges Bank.........1.31%
State Street........1.21% + 0.14% Derivatives
Old Mutual PLC......1.06%
Henderson Global....0.09% + 1.22% Derivatives

Total..............20.06% + 1.36% Derivatives

BOA & Goldman Sachs hold Long/Short CFD's as Intermediaries

We already Know:

Guoco.......40.84%
Prudential...4.56%
Aviva........4.11%
L&G..........3.51%
Blackrock....3.34% (Have reduced their holding)
Cheng Zay....3.00% (IMO may be sold to Guoco like Gentings stake.)

Total.......59.36%

(Total 79.42%)

[scrapman] 12/5/2011 07:43

Logan , any views if all these shennanigans are in breach of takeover code ,

Gentings holdings , new Malaysian almost 3% holder etc

[loganair] 11/5/2011 11:06

Threadneedle........3.78% (New Major share holding)
Chau Ma Yu..........2.95% (Malaysian Investor)
Old Mutual AM (UK)..2.76%
FIL.................2.03%
JP Morgan..........1.35%
Norges Bank.........1.31%
Lloyds..............1.25%
State Street........1.21% + 0.14% Derivatives
Old Mutual PLC......1.06%
Henderson Global....0.09% + 1.22% Derivatives

Total..............17.79% + 1.36% Derivatives

BOA & Goldman Sachs hold Long/Short CFD's as Intermediaries

We already Know:

Guoco.......40.08%
Prudential...4.56%
Aviva........4.14%
L&G..........3.51%
Blackrock....3.34% (Have reduced their holding)
Cheng Zay....3.00% (IMO may be sold to Guoco like Gentings stake.)

Total.......58.68%

(Total 76.42%)

[loganair] 10/5/2011 13:16

Threadneedle......3.78% (New Major share holding)
FIL...............2.03%
JP Morgan.........1.35%
Norges Bank.......1.31%
Lloyds............1.25%
State Street......1.21% + 0.14% Derivatives
Old Mutual........1.06%
Henderson Global..0.18% + 1.43% Derivatives

Total..........10.82% + 1.57% Derivatives

BOA & Goldman Sachs hold as Intermediaries

We already Know:

Guoco.......40.80%
Prudential...4.56%
Aviva........4.14%
L&G..........4.00%
Blackrock....3.34% (Have reduced their holding)
Cheng Zay....3.00% (IMO may be sold to Guoco like Gentings stake.)

Total.......59.84%

(Total 70.66%)

[loganair] 09/5/2011 15:52

Threadneedle...3.78% (New Major share holding)
FIL............2.03%
JP Morgan......1.35%
Lloyds.........1.25%
State Street...1.21% & .14% Derivatives

Total..........8.27%

We already Know:

Guoco.......40.80%
Blackrock....4.93%
Prudential...4.56%
L&G..........4.00%
Aviva........3.02%
Cheng Zay....3.00% (IMO may be sold to Guoco like Gentings stake.)

Total.......60.31%

(Total 68.58%)

[scrapman] 09/5/2011 08:19

Looks like Goldman and Guoco are out to shaft the PI's

No doubt there was a "little extra" in the plain brown envelope for Gentings lot


Any chance that Virgin will have a look at these to expand their casino opps ??


Any ideas what the next move will be Logan , ??

[azalea] 08/5/2011 08:27

I have to laugh at the claims of Labour, et al, as to how financially oppresed the poor 'workers' are, yet bingo and betting company Rank has seemingly never had it so good.

[loganair] 07/5/2011 09:19

Another question I've asked many times is what happened to the 12.5% BT Pension Fund stake?

Why did they sell at around the all time low of 70p when they purchased their stake for between 180p and 220p per share?

I'm wondering if next week Guoco will suddenly be offered 12% from various institutions at a private negotiated price giving them in the region of 53% of Rank - in other words effective control of Rank.

If one was able to look deeply in to this one may find that BT Pension Fund actually sold out for 150p per share and not on the open market for 70p per share.

One final thing that has always bothered me is that Guoco have been advised by Goldman Sachs (who are like having a football team made up of a combined Barcelona/Manchester United.)

[loganair] 07/5/2011 08:45

Hong Kong investment group Guoco has announced a £585m cash offer for bingo and casino operator Rank, but it does not want the bid to succeed.

Under takeover rules Guoco had to make the offer after buying an 11.6% stake in Rank from Malaysian casino group Genting when it came up for sale. The deal took Guoco's shareholding to 40.8%, above the 29.9% threshold where it had to make a bid. But the offer will not be raised and is expected to be open for only 21 days. Guoco's aim is to keep Rank's listing and a spokesman said: "Guoco remains very supportive of the company and its management team. This is not a hostile move."

Guoco first invested in Rank in 2007 at 80p a share. Rank shares closed up 1.9p at 148.8p ahead of the release of the Guoco announcement

------------------------------------------------------------

I always thought that Gentings 11.6% stake was being bought on behalf of Guoco - their holding has been a Concert Party if ever I've seen one.

I've posted several times, why has Genting bought it's stake when Rank wasn't paying a dividend?

Genting paid in the region of an average 96p for it's stake less than 2 years ago. By selling at 150p per share has made a 56% profit on it's investment in less than 2 years.

[loganair] 19/4/2011 17:19

Rank Group (Buy, TP 179p)

Last week's IMS showed solid progress against a challenging economic backdrop.
We were particularly pleased to see casino visits up 12% on a like-for-like basis, as this is the best reflection of the business's underlying performance. Two G casino conversions are planned for 2011, together with one new build, and this together with the contribution from recent new openings/conversions should drive profits in the current year.

Meanwhile, Mecca appears to have stabilised from a visits perspective, and in Q1 spend per head appreciated by 4%, despite the increase in VAT. The Full House concept remains key to an accelerated performance at Mecca.

The recent £154m VAT refund leaves the group with net cash and facing the option of returning funds to shareholders or using the proceeds to fund acquisitions (Gala Casinos could be one option), although Rank is unlikely to make any move until HMRC loses its final appeal.

Since the VAT success the share price has risen by 18p compared to the c40p per
share the £154m represents, leaving plenty of upside. If Rank does ultimately keep the proceeds, we would expect to move our target price to c200p. This is well managed focused group with clear catalysts for a re-rating.

[loganair] 14/4/2011 18:19

Interim Management Statement - Broker Assessment

Solid start, strong underlying casino Rank had made a solid start to the year and whilst casino revenues are flat the underlying strength of the business is
highlighted by a 12% LFL increase in visits. Meanwhile, there is no value in the current share price for the recent VAT win. We continue to view Rank as a core buy.

Q1 has been solid if not a little mixed. Casino revenues are flat but this is due to a low win margin in the London casinos. The underlying strength of the business is highlighted by a 12% LFL growth in the number of visits. It should also be remembered that the comparable period in 2010 was also very strong (+9% LFL). Mecca revenues are up 4% with visits stable, growth coming from increased spend per head despite the impact of VAT. Rank Interactive revenues are +23% driven by a recovery at BlueSquare and continued strength in Mecca Bingo. The one negative element was the 20% decline in TR Espana as the smoking ban hits home. We see no need to change our numbers at this stage.

Good value. Our positive stance on Rank is based on the solid prospects for casino (supported by the G format), a belief that Mecca has stabilised and that
the Full House concept could significantly boost profits if it is perfected and, the balance sheet flexibility. The recent VAT success means that Rank is effectively in a net cash position. Assuming HMRC is not successful on appeal, then we would expect either excess capital to be returned to shareholders or be used to fund an acquisition – which could be Gala Casinos (if the new owners are willing to sell at a reasonable price). We don't believe that this is reflected in the current rating.

[loganair] 13/4/2011 17:39

Rank Group Ltd v The Commissioners for Her Majesty's Revenue & Customs, Decision Number 20777 - In the second VAT case brought by it this year, the Rank Group is claiming a refund of £25 million of overpaid VAT paid in connection with slot machines.

That's not bad another £25m plus interest.