Rank, the bingo, casino and online gaming company which recently agreed to acquire Gala Casinos from Gala Coral Group, learned on Monday that the Office of Fair Trading has referred the transaction to the Competition Commission.
The firm said it is "considering the implications of this decision" and will make a further announcement in due course.
The £205m acquisition, which includes 23 casinos in the UK, is to be funded by new three-year bank facilities totalling £175m, together with existing bank facilities.
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The purchase, which is set to take place in the third quarter of the current year, will make Rank the largest casino operator in the UK by number of casinos with 58 operating venues and 13 non-operating licences.
By 15:32, shares were down 2.03% at 130p.
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