Casino buyout target; GAMING: Malaysian group eyes city gambling assets.Byline: By Chris Morley INDUSTRIAL CORRESPONDENT BIRMINGHAM'S Star City Casino This article has multiple issues: * It does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by citing reliable sources. owner Stanley Leisure was today understood to be the target for control of a Malaysian gambling company. Genting, which already owns 20 per cent of Stanley, was unmasked by reports as the mystery party behind the latest move in the scramble for casino assets in the UK. The Far East outfit was believed to have made the possible offer revealed yesterday by Stanley, whose estate of 45 casinos also includes the city casinos Midland Wheel on Hagley Road and Circus in Hurst Street Hurst Street is a street located in the Chinese Quarter of Birmingham, England. Hurst Street is the location of the Birmingham Hippodrome, a theatre specialising in ballet, opera, and musicals. It is the home of the Birmingham Royal Ballet. . The Malaysian company also owns 29.7 per cent of London Clubs International, which last week agreed to a takeover by Las Vegas-based gaming group Harrah's Entertainment. Stanley and LCI LCI Livable Centers Initiative LCI Life Cycle Inventory LCI Landing Craft, Infantry LCI La Chaine Info (French cable news channel) LCI Lean Construction Institute LCI Lions Club International had been in merger talks of their own, but these collapsed because of the pounds 280 million offer from Harrah's. 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. Reports last month suggested Harrah's wanted to buy both London Clubs and Stanley Leisure. Shares in Stanley Leisure soared by almost a fifth yesterday to value the firm at pounds 570 million on news it had received "a proposal concerning a possible offer which the board is currently evaluating". The stock rose another three per cent early on today. Initial speculation had linked Rank Group to the approach, as the two companies are set to be the only listed gaming firms remaining in the UK. Rank is concentrating more heavily on gaming and is considering the sale of its Hard Rock Cafe Hard Rock Cafe is a chain of casual dining restaurants. It was founded in 1971 by Isaac Tigrett and Peter Morton, and their first Hard Rock Cafe opened near Hyde Park Corner in London, in a former Rolls Royce car dealerships showroom close to Hyde Park, where in 1979 they began to business. CAPTION(S): RAISING THE STAKES...a gambler at the Star City Casino |
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