888 Takes Control of bwin.party

888 Takes Control of bwin.party

Friday, 17 July 2015

888 Holdings has won the race to become the new owner of bwin.party. Over the past few months there has been competition between rival gaming operators for control of bwin.party, but earlier today it was announced that 888 Holdings would take charge of the poker, casino and sports betting outfit.

Back at the start of 2015, William Hill put in a £750 million bid for bwin.party which was subsequently rejected. This offer was followed up by interest from 888 and GVC Holdings which offered a cash and stock bid worth around £898 million.

However, after the finer details of each deal were hashed out, it was 888 that secured the deal meaning it will now absorb bwin.party's assets into its own iGaming portfolio.

According to reports, the deal will be completed at the start of 2016, at which time bwin.party's shareholders will own 48.9% of the new company. Moreover, Liz Catchpole and Martin Weigold, two senior figures at bwin.party, will join the 888 board.

However, bwin.party's chief executive, Norbert Teufelberger, will not be joining the 888 board but will instead serve in an advisory role.

The new deal is thought to be a good move for each company as it will allow the newly formed entity to cut costs and, significantly, launch a raft of new innovations and products. For poker players this could mean enhanced options at both 888poker and partypoker in the coming months.

Commenting on the deal, 888's executive chairman, Brian Mattingley, said: "This is a transformational opportunity for 888 in the consolidating online gaming industry, which is expected to grow significantly over the coming years."



Tags: 888 Holdings, bwin.party, business