Amaya and Playtech Rumored in Bid to Purchase Bwin.Party Posted on by

Reports this morning suggest that Amaya or Playtech may soon be the new owners of Bwin.Party, with offers being made at around £1.2 Billion ($1.9 Billion).

Earlier today, a transcript of the “Markets Live” conversation between the Financial Times´ Paul Murphy and Bryce Elder was published in the “FTAlphaville” section of ft.com (registration required). In the transcript, Paul Murphy mentioned unconfirmed reports that the Amaya Gaming Group – who recently purchased PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker – were looking to take over Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment with a market valuation of approximately £1.2 million.

Around the same time, the London Evening Standard reported that the online gambling software manufacturer Playtech – who supply the software for the iPoker network – were also in the market for an acquisition. The Standard reported that the cash-rich company had launched a convertible bond issue to raise €315 million and speculated that it was for a proposed takeover of Bwin.Party.

Bwin.Party Issue Statement Confirming Rumors

As the speculation about a potential takeover gathered pace, Bwin.Party´s Board of Directors was forced to issue a statement confirming that it was in discussions with interested parties .

Further to recent media speculation regarding a possible bid for bwin.party, the Board of bwin.party confirms that it has entered into preliminary discussions with a number of interested parties regarding a variety of potential business combinations with a view to creating additional value for bwin.party shareholders. Such discussions may or may not result in an offer being made for the Company. However, as all such discussions remain at a preliminary stage, there can be no certainty as to whether or not they will result in any form of transaction with any party. Further announcements will be made as and when appropriate.

Peter Reynolds – Director of Communications for Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment – declined to comment further on who the interested parties were, but the company´s long-suffering shareholders did get some instant additional value , as shares on the London Stock Exchange rose 12.5% to £1.21.

Buyer Beware!

Value hunters looking to make a quick buck by buying up Bwin.Party shares – and then hoping Amaya or Playtech present an offer over market value – should beware. This is not the first time that the sale of Bwin.Party has been rumored.

Back in 2011 speculation was going around the stock markets that both William Hill and Wynn Resorts were interested in acquiring Bwin.Party. At the time the rumored share price on offer was £1.70, but the deal went down because of the uncertainty surrounding the regulation of online gambling in the States.

With Amaya´s PokerStars still encountering obstacles in New Jersey, not sure of getting a bad actor exclusion in California, and a potentially crippling vote on the Restoration of Americas Wire Act on the horizon, it would be fair to say there is just as much uncertainty surrounding the regulation on online gambling in the States as there was three years ago.

The Amaya Gaming Group is scheduled to publish its financial figures this coming Friday (November 14) and, if it is one of the potential interested parties, we should hear more about their plans for Bwin.Party by then.

You can keep up to date on the latest news about Bwin.Party by following me – Tim Hernandez – on Twitter.