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SPECULATION Publishing and Broadcasting Ltd or Macquarie Bank could be lining up a consortium to take over the country's largest gambling group have sent Tabcorp shares soaring.
The shares closed more than 90c higher at $18 yesterday on rumours PBL and Macquarie were behind a series of large trades throughout the day that pushed volumes to double their normal levels.
In the past three weeks shares in Tabcorp, owner of Sydney's Star City casino, have surged 8 per cent.
Private equity raiders have also been touted as potential bidders for the wagering and gaming business, which recently saw its chief executive Matthew Slatter forced out the door. His removal came after he admitted the company faced a challenging year, with weak performances at its casinos and a blowout in costs resulting in first-half profit slumping 22 per cent to $224 million.
Talk of consolidation in the gaming sector has been helped by last month's announcement by PBL that it would buy a group of Canadian casinos in a $1.45 billion joint venture with Macquarie and last week's move by PBL to buy a stake in a yet-to-be built casino and hotel development in the US.
Tabcorp rival Tattersall's has also been raised as a potential target for raiders.
Tatt's has also teamed up with Macquarie Bank recently to take over UK gaming operator Talarius, which operates 197 gaming sites incorporating 9500 electronic gaming machines.
Fund manager Perpetual's head of Australian equities, John Sevior, said yesterday said he had not heard any news about the company but agreed there had been rumours about predators circling Tabcorp for months.
Tabcorp has the licence to operate half the slot machines in Victorian clubs and pubs, as well as the monopoly off-course tote wagering licence in the state.
As well as Sydney's Star City it owns three casinos in Queensland, the off-course tote in NSW and racing TV channel Sky.
PBL owns Crown Casino in Melbourne as well as Perth's Burswood, and is building two casinos in Macau as part of a joint venture with Hong Kong-based Melco, one of which is due to open next month.
PBL has been on the lookout for good gaming assets after generating $4.6 billion by spinning-off some of its media assets into a 50-50 joint venture company with a private equity group last October.
It has been raised as a potential new entrant to the NSW casino market if the state government agrees to allow a new entrant when Star City's exclusive licence expires in September.
Potential sites are either the northern NSW town of Tweed Heads, or the Hunter Valley.
UBS gaming analyst Sam Theodore yesterday said the likelihood of a second casino was "very limited". Instead, he said, the NSW authorities would probably increase gaming taxes or demand a hefty upfront payment to ensure Star City remains the state's exclusive casino.
what i was also wondering was how former nswtab holders felt about seeing gains in a stock because they are a well run company, not because they are going to be taken over in a bidding war. surely TAB would still be in the $3.50 range if not for this years fight between TAH & UTB. former TAB's pls reply.
THE equine flu shutdown cost the NSW TAB $40 million in lost betting turnover yesterday and threatens to financially cripple the racing industry.
Interstate TABs and bookies nationwide lost more than $150 million as authorities cancelled all racing for the first time in memory.
They are losing their Vic pokie license and probably the $600m the license is valued at on their balance sheet (how do you say extraordinary). Not good (if you own TAH). At least it's not for another 4 or so years.
They don't deserve a cent in compensation. They were running a duopoly given to them by the useless Joan Kirner.
It is good to see it getting fixed. There was always the risk they would lose this, we just thought the politicians would be corrupted by the massive amounts of money given to the party during elections and hiring of ex politicians. Brumby has done a good thing and I will have to rerate the man.
Love to see it occur in Tasmania with Gunns, unfortunately they have hopelessly corrupted the Liberal and Labour parties.
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