Rank Group Plc Share News (RNK)

Following the shock resignations on Tuesday of chief executive Ian Burke and finance director Paddy Gallagher, the independent directors of gaming group Rank have had another change of heart over the bid from Guoco Group.Having consulted with a number of significant shareholders and taking on board the advice of Goldman Sachs, the board now feels it is in the best interests of shareholders to accept the 150p per share on offer from Guoco, even though they believe the offer price materially undervalues the company.The board is now of the view that the risk of a cancellation of Rank shares has increased significantly and, despite the assurances set out by Guoco Group on Friday, 24 June 2011, there is no certainty that Rank will be able to maintain its listing on the London Stock Exchange. Should the listing be cancelled, shareholders in Rank would experience difficulties in finding buyers for their shares should they wish to sell.The board's view is consistent with the opinion expressed by Burke and Gallagher when their resignations from the board were announced. Both will remain with Rank so as to ensure an orderly handover to their respective successors when they have been identified, after which they presumably will pursue careers as London taxi drivers, where their experience of being forced into frequent U-turns will come in handy.The Rank board initially rejected the Guoco offer, then grudgingly endorsed it when Guoco gained control of more than 50% of the group's shares, then withdrew its recommendation at the beginning of this week before once again bowing to what seems the inevitable demise of more than 70 years as an independent company, including a period as a mainstay of the British film industry. Broker Matrix Group said "it is now quite clear that all of Rank's shareholders should accept the offer of 150p from Guoco, before the deadline of 1.00pm tomorrow [Thursday]."Matrix analyst John Beaumont said: "While 150p per share, in our view, represents a huge loss in value to the vendor shareholders (we had a 12-month target price of 185p and a fair value of 203p, even before any further VAT claims), we believe that the certainty from accepting this offer is better than the uncertainty that will arise following the eventual delisting of Rank's shares."The share price of Rank edged up one-tenth of a penny in early trading on Wednesday to remain three-tenths of a penny below Guoco's 150p offer price. --jh