Stanley Shut out by Harrah's
U.S.-based Harrah's Entertainment's (HEC) £279.3 million bid on Thursday to acquire British gaming company London Clubs International (LCI.L) appears to have squelched merger talks between London Clubs and British rival Stanley Leisure (SLY.L). Shares in LCI rose above the offer price of 125p per share, while Stanley Leisure's stock picked up 38p amid speculation that the bid may flush out more suitors. "Harrah's bid clearly throws the cat amongst the pigeons in the Stanley Leisure-London Clubs deal, and we presume this offer is just an opening shot with more to come,'' Evolution Securities analyst Nigel Parson said in a note. Stanley Leisure, which owns four casinos in London and 40 in other parts of the United Kingdom, began merger talks with LCI in June.
Chartwell/Parlay Merger Plans
Internet gaming software provider Chartwell Technology Inc. and Internet bingo software provider Parlay Entertainment Inc. on Wednesday announced they are merging. According to the letter of intent, Chartwell will acquire all of the issued and outstanding common shares of Parlay, issuing 0.75 common shares of Chartwell for each issued and outstanding share of Parlay. Assuming the transaction goes through, Chartwell will issue roughly 11.2 million common shares in exchange for the entirety of Parlay's issued and outstanding common shares and will have an estimated 29.9 million issued and outstanding common shares at closing. Pending court approvals, stock exchange approvals and Parlay shareholders' approval, the merger is scheduled to be completed by Oct. 31, 2006. The two companies have also agreed to a CA$500,000 termination fee.
PartyGaming to Release Interim Results
PartyGaming Plc (PRTY.L) is set to release its interim results for the six months to June 30. The company will host a 7:30 a.m. (GMT) conference call on Thursday with CEO Mitch Garber and Group Finance Director Martin Weigold. PartyGaming last week pulled out of the race to buy privately held sports betting and gaming firm Victor Chandler Group, choosing instead to focus on its recent 102 million euro acquisition of online sports betting group Gamebookers.
Reporting
In its interim results for the six months ending June 30, 2006, AIM-listed 32Red Plc (TTR.L) has reported a jump in revenue of nearly 50 percent. Its numbers would have been even better had it not been for the World Cup, the online gaming and betting group claims. "In common with the industry as a whole, we have experienced a short-term impact to gaming revenues as a result of the recent World Cup," Chief Executive Ed Ware said in a prepared statement in July. Revenues rose 48 percent to £6.24 million in the period, generating £5 million in sales, with the total active customer base up fourfold year-on-year to 44,500. The number of new casino and poker players in the period increased by 125 percent to 13,253, while the total of new customers since June 7 for Bet Direct, the company's newly acquired sports betting division, was 2,904.
32Red Plc - Interim Results
U.K.-based gaming and entertainment company Rank Group Plc (RNK.L) has released its interim results for the six months ending June 30, 2006, reporting an increase in revenue over the same period last year, but an overall profit loss due to restructuring within the company. Rank unloaded 40 Mecca Bingo clubs and four Grosevenor casinos in July to joint venture group Earth-Solarus for £211 million. Revenue for the six months ending June 30, 2006 was up 7.2 percent to £426.1 million, compared to £397.3 million in the same period in 2005. The group reported an overall operating profit of £58 million for the period, down £3.6 million from 2005.
Rank Group Plc - Interim Results