Guoco Group Ltd., the investment arm of Hong Leong Group Malaysia, has once again upped its shareholding in Rank Group, the troubled land-based and online gambling operator, to 23.19 percent.
Guoco now controls 90.5 million of Rank's ordinary shares, which, Monday, were trading at 55.5 pence -- just 3.5 pence off their 52-week low.
"The feeling in the City is that they will make a bid at some point," Simon J. Holliday, the director of H2 Gambling Capital, told IGamingNews by e-mail today.
"They (Guoco) are required to bid at just 30%, I believe," he added. "My guess is they are trying to gradually buy in until a bottom is reached. The focus has been on the bingo story -- but my feeling is that their casino is not performing that well."
Rank Group, with a market capitalization of £216.7 million, has remained a steady subject of takeover speculation since its September 2007 profits warning.
Guoco is Rank's largest shareholder.
Chris Krafcik is the editor of IGamingNews. He lives in St. Louis, Mo.