OpCapita, RBS, and GameStop in the bidding for Game - Report

Reports suggest that OpCapita, the private investment firm that recently bought UK electrical-goods merchant Comet, has submitted another bid for troubled UK-based specialist retailer Game. OpCapita initially made a bid for Game before the UK retailer entered administration, but that bid was rejected by the lending syndicate led by the Royal Bank of Scotland.

After Game failed to pay its £21 million second-quarter rent bill, PricewaterhouseCoopers was introduced and appointed administrator on Monday. The firm had previously announced its intention to call in administrators after its shares were suspended from the London Stock Exchange last week. PricewaterhouseCoopers closed 277 of the group's 610 UK stores, resulting in more than 2,000 redundancies. OpCapita is now bidding for the remaining 333 stores.

Should OpCapita's bid fail a second time, Game may still end its administration in short order, MCV reports. An RBS-led syndicate is reportedly hoping to buy parts of Game's business and appoint a management team to run the retailer until it can be sold on to allow the bank to recoup some of its credit line. It is being reported that another bid has come from GameStop, which has targeted Game's operations in Spain, Portugal, and the Czech Republic.

One piece of good news for consumers is that the administrators have taken the unusual step of unfreezing Game reward cards. The firm's official Twitter account said, "Reward Cards have now been reactivated by the Administrators for redemption against pre-owned stock." A further post indicated that gift cards may soon be activated as well, but no time frame was given for the latter change.