Robert Pittman, the US investor, is understood to be among potential bidders for Hard Rock Cafe, the restaurant chain owned by UK leisure group Rank. Pittman — former chief operating officer of AOL Time Warner, later renamed Time Warner — is interested in buying the chain using Pilot Group, his investment vehicle. The next round of bids is due in the second week of November and it is thought the Hard Rock business could fetch £500m. Rival bidders are likely to include Permira and TDR Capital, the UK private equity groups, and Apollo, a US buy-out firm. The Hard Rock business is mostly US-based and the auction is expected to attract a bid from at least one US trade buyer. The sale of the Hard Rock chain continues an ongoing disposal process at Rank which, when completed, would see it refocus as a casino and bingo operator. 

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