Worlds largest casino firm eyes up UK takeover

14.08.2006, Lesen Sie hier den Bericht über «Worlds largest casino firm eyes up UK takeover»

The world's largest gaming company was today said to be eyeing the takeover of two major casino operators in a bid to break into the British market.

Harrah's Entertainment, worth around £6 billion, is reportedly studying a proposal to buy Stanley Leisure and London Clubs International - two companies involved in their own ongoing £634 million merger talks. Stanley operates Crockfords, The Colony Club, The Mint and The Palm Beach casinos in London - in addition to 41 sites in cities including Bristol, Liverpool and Birmingham. LCI operates four casinos in London including Fifty and The Sportsman, as well as The Rendezvous in Southend and Brighton. It has plans for others in Manchester, Leeds, Blackpool, Nottingham and Glasgow.

According to sources in the gaming community, the Sunday Times said the American group had put together a detailed appraisal of both companies. It is not known whether chief executive Gary Loveman will wait until the completion of the Stanley and LCI merger before making his move. However, it is thought that his company is keen to expand its international operations because of concerns about soaring construction costs in Las Vegas.

Founded in 1937, Las Vegas-based Harrah's owns or manages 40 casinos in three countries under the Harrah's, Rio, and Showboat names.

Last year it signed agreements to develop casino resorts in Slovenia and Madrid, as part of a number of overseas developments in the pipeline. A Harrah's spokesman told the Sunday Times that he had "no knowledge" of any corporate activity involving Stanley Leisure.

Consolidation of the industry has been on the cards in the UK since the shake-up of gaming laws paved the way for international operators to run new super-casinos proposed by the government. Stanley has reported a surge in visitors to its provincial casinos on the back of the deregulation, which lifted the rule forcing new punters to register 24 hours in advance and scrapped limits on jackpot prizes.

Takeover speculation and improved trading since the gaming laws were relaxed has helped boost Stanley's share price from 418p in January 2005 to a high of 875p earlier this year, although the stock closed at 600.5p on Friday.

It is thought that merger talks between Stanley and LCI could be concluded by the end of this month.

Über Harrah's Las Vegas Hotel and Casino:

Das Casino gehört zu Caesars Entertainment. Caesars Entertainment Inc. wurde 1937 als Harrah's gegründet und wurde 2010 in Caesars Entertainment umbenannt. Besitzer sind die Investment-Firmen Apollo Global Management, TPG Capital und The Blackstone Group.

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