ADVISER: EVERCORE PARTNERS
EVERCORE Partners is representing Rank Group on the takeover talks, led by Edward Banks, a senior managing director of the firm’s corporate advisory business.
Banks has form in leisure takeovers involving Malaysian gaming firms – although he was most recently on the side of the seller, advising Stanley Leisure when it was taken over by Malaysian operator Genting Berhad for £639m in 2006.
Further high-profile transactions include advising Telefonica on the sale of its Airwave network to Guardian Digital Communications for £2bn in 2007, representing transport business FirstGroup on its acquisition of Laidlaw, and advising United Technologies Corporation on its £622m acquisition of Chubb.
Prior to joining Evercore, the Oxford graduate was a managing director in the M&A team at JP Morgan Cazenove, after working as a managing director in JP Morgan’s UK team.