Rank directors in surprise resignation

Rank is the UK’s leading land-based gaming entertainment business, operating thirty five licensed casinos, over a hundred bingo halls, an interactive online gaming portal and several bingo halls in Spain.

Recently the board of directors of Rank and its shareholders experienced confusion over a takeover bid from Guoco Group, a Hong Kong-based investment and holding firm. The Rank board was going back and forth to the extent that in four working days it changed its mind three times by advising shareholders to first accept the bid, then not to accept it and finally back to accepting it.

This humiliating ambivalence has caused two major resignations from two of the company heads; Ian Burke, CEO of Rank since March 2006 and Paddy Gallagher, Finance Director of Rank since June 2008 have both handed in their simultaneous resignations from their positions effective immediately, but will both stay on to ensure a smooth transition of power.

Rank has issued a statement saying "Following the announcement by the board yesterday in relation to the offer for the group by Guoco Group, Ian and Paddy have expressed to the board their view that, given the feedback received from institutional shareholders since the announcement, coupled with the advice from the group's brokers' in light of this feedback as to the possible level of acceptances of the offer, it is now more than likely that the offer will result in a cancellation of the listing of Rank's shares on the Official List and the admission to trading of Rank's shares on the London Stock Exchange's main market for listed securities,”

Now it seems that without two of Rank’s strongest board members steering it, the shareholders are bound to accept the big offer and Rank will be transferred to Malaysian hands as Guoco Group is held by Malaysian billionaire Quek Leng Chan.