text: Guoco Group has received the acceptances they were craving for in relation to their deal to buy Rank Group. A release from Rank this morning contained details that 71.53% of shareholders have sent valid acceptances to the Hong Kong-based company. Although they added that the threshold of 75% to delist has not been reached and is unlikely to attain this stage by Friday’s deadline. Analyst James Hollins of Evolution Securities also commented that the firm, “expect the final level at Friday’s offer close to remain below 75% meaning it looks likely that Rank will remain a listed entity beyond the close of the offer on 15 July.”
  The saga has rattled on for some time as Rank’s will-they won’t-they approach to the deal continually confused all those involved at the company. It’s taken in more wild goings-on than an iGaming industry weekend of parties and you can imagine that it’s got a little way to go until it’s all hunky dory.
  Over the channel in France, the former monopoly provider Pari Mutuel Urbain (PMU) has reported that online stakes have risen by 64%. The site has seen stakes rise to a total of €639.5m (£563.8m) after it begins to show more of a reliance on that side of their business. PMU also saw gains in the French poker market as their share of the market rose to 5%. According to its release, they claim to have broken into the top three sites offering sports betting in the country – which excludes bets on horses. As a whole “new” activities have contributed 16% to PMU’s gross gaming revenue and 63% of its growth in the area.