The company has reached an agreement to sell its Deluxe film processing divisionto to DX III Holdings for $750m and will now concentrate on the growth opportunities in its gambling businesse, which includes the online bookmaker Blue Square.
Industry analysts speculated that the sale clears the way for a possible takeover of the company.
Wayne Brown, at Altium Securities, said Rank is likely to become a prime takeover target from the likes of William Hill or private equity houses such as CVC, BC Partners and Blackstone, which are also taking a look at Ladbrokes, and Charterhouse, the previous owner of Coral Eurobet.
“I doubt it will be an independent company this time next year,” he added.
Rank has already held talks with William Hill to create a gaming and betting giant to challenge Gala, which recently acquired Coral Eurobet, but the merger was called off because of the companies’ different ratings on the stock exchange.
Calculators
