Rank Group has announced it is to acquire Gala Casinos from Gala Coral Group for £205 million.

Rank will acquire 23 casinos in Great Britain and three non-operating licences. The deal is set to create the largest casino operator in Great Britain by number of casinos, with 58 operating venues and 13 non-operating licences.

Rank said the deal presents a “significant opportunity” for it to continue delivering sustainable value for shareholders through the development of its casino portfolio.

Osisko Mining Corporation reported record production in its Q1 2012 results today, but also issued a warning after a fire at its Canadian Malartic Mill in Quebec, Canada.

A fire occurred in the cyclone separator portion of the mill just before midnight on Wednesday 9 May, most likely started by welding near to the number four cyclone area, and then spread to the mill roof of that sector.

Coal of Africa Limited (CoAL) has completed its acquisition of Rio Tinto and Kwezi Mining’s shares in both Chapudi Coal and Kwezi Mining and Exploration (KME).

The acquisition has been carried out by Keynote Trading & Investment 108, a subsidiary of CoAL.

Chapudi and KME hold the prospecting rights for the Chapudi Coal Project and related exploration properties in South Africa’s Soutpansberg coalfield in the Limpopo Province. CoAL originally agreed to acquire the Chapudi coal assets from the previous owners in November 2010.

German multinational engineering and electronics giant Bosch Group had a record-setting year in 2011 and the outlook remains positive for 2012.

In fiscal year 2011, the company best known for its automotive components achieved worldwide sales of $71.7 billion (€51.5 billion), recording its second highest rate of growth since 2000.

Richard Telofski responds to our recently published article on capitalism and the ecological crisis.

Pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline has announced it will go hostile with its $2.6 billion bid for Human Genome Sciences by taking the offer directly to shareholders.

GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) is refusing to participate in the strategic alternatives review process offered by US-based Human Genome Sciences (HGS), on the basis that it is unnecessary and that there is existing strategic and financial logic to the combination of the two companies. GSK said that HGS shareholders should have the opportunity to decide for themselves on the merits of the offer. 

The partnership between the Renault-Nissan Alliance and Daimler reached a milestone today when state officials joined Nissan leaders to break ground on a new manufacturing facility in Decherd, Tennessee.

The new facility – located at the existing Nissan powertrain assembly complex – will produce Mercedes-Benz 4-cylinder gasoline engines for Infiniti and Mercedes-Benz models.

The Alliance for Responsible Mining (ARM) seeks to transform global gold production by integrating and formalizing the position of countless artisanal and small-scale miners. Executive director Lina Villa Córdoba talks to Jayne Flannery about ARM’s vision for the human face of the industry.

Exploration companies GTA Resources and Balmoral Resources have just announced an exciting set of drilling results for their Northshore Gold joint venture. Peter Clausi and Darin Wagner talk to Gay Sutton about relationships and teamwork in this rapidly developing story.