Competing bidder ups stake in Wembley

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Monday, March 22, 2004 | 9:29 a.m.

BLOOMBERG NEWS

BLB Investors LLC, which may bid for Wembley Plc, agreed to buy the rest of Active Value Fund Managers Ltd.'s stake in the company, on the condition BLB makes a bid for the U.K. dog-track owner before the end of March.

BLB, formed by financier Barry Sternlicht's Starwood Hotels & Resorts, Kerzner International Ltd. and Waterford Group LLC, said earlier in the month it may bid for Wembley Plc, the U.K. owner of gambling venues that in January agreed to be acquired by the third-biggest U.S. casino company MGM MIRAGE.

BLB now owns or has rights to buy 22.3 percent of Wembley, the company said in a Regulatory News Service statement.

Wembley owns the Lincoln Park greyhound track in Rhode Island and three greyhound tracks and a horse-racing track in Colorado.

The company said last month that 2003 net income declined 14 percent as changes to Rhode Island tax rules cut the company's share of revenue from video-lottery terminals.