Earlier this month we were reporting that PartyGaming, which operates the PartyPoker and PartyCasino sites, was looking for takeover deals. The big rumor at the time was that PartyGaming talked merger with a number of parties, including bwin. The rumor has now turned to fact – PartyGaming merged with Austria’s bwin. bwin Interactive Entertainment AG and PartyGaming PLC entered an agreement to merge and form a Societas Europaea (European joint stock company) incorporated in Gibraltar and listed on the London Stock Exchange.
The merger of PartyGaming and bwin marks the birth of the world's largest publicly traded online gambling company. PartyGaming owns 48.4% of the combined entity while bwin owns 51.6%. The combined entity will be run by Norbert Teufelberger and Jim Ryan (both will act as co-CEOs).
“This business combination makes great strategic, operational and financial sense. We will be in pole position to capitalize on the wealth of opportunities that will flow from the continued evolution and expansion of the global online gaming industry,” commented Co-Chief Executive of bwin, Norbert Teufelberger.
“With market-leading positions in poker, sports betting, casino and games (in particular bingo), the enlarged Group will have a winning formula to exploit the growing online gaming market, supported by a strong balance sheet, significant cashflow generation and a highly experienced management team,” commented Chief Executive of PartyGaming, Jim Ryan.
Comments
Post new comment