Party Gaming and Bwin Merger Complete
The process of Party Gaming Plc and bwin Interactive Entertainment AG (bwin) has been completed with the deal creating the world’s largest online gambling group.
The newly formed group re-registered its name as 'bwin.party digital entertainment plc' with the merger formally taking place in March 2011 after being approved to the satisfaction of the Gibraltar courts.
Austrian-based online betting company bwin ceased trading on the Vienna Stock Exchange on March 25 this year with bwin shareholders receiving 12.23 new PartyGaming shares as a result of the merger.
Both Party Gaming and bwin had announced plans to merge back in July 2011, issuing company documents to shareholders back in December of last year outlining the planned merger.
Shareholders voted on the merger at an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) in January 2011, where bwin shareholders unanimously approved of the Party Gaming and bwin merger.
Party Gaming CEO Jim Ryan and bwin CEO Norbert Teufelberger, both the previous CEOs of the two companies before the merger, will jointly run the new online gambling group. The merger also brought about other management changes including the appointment of Simon Duffy taking over as chairman of the company’s board.
Party Gaming have published revenue reports that showed a 8% decline in revenue for PartyPoker.com in the last 12 months but a 15% increase in revenue for its online casino operations.
In 2010, Party Gaming earned €357.3 million ($498 million) compared to €310.1 million ($432 million) in the 2009 year.
With the Party Gaming and bwin merger, the company no doubt hopes to re-enter the US Poker market with a license should a regulatory system for online poker in the United States come in place. If that happens, the group will become of the highest traffic online poker rooms for players in the U.S. and around the globe.
Commenting on the merger that has taken place, Jim Ryan and Norbert Teufelberger, the new CEOs of the company, had this to say:
"We are delighted that our merger is now complete so that we can start with the integration of our businesses and capturing the synergies we have already identified. As we make the transition from unregulated to regulated markets we have an excellent opportunity to capitalize on our market-leading positions in sports betting, poker, casino and games as well as bingo."
Simon Duffy, the newly appointed Chairman of the company’s board, had this to say after the merger’s announcement:
"Congratulations to bwin.party's directors and employees on managing the merger through to completion. This is a landmark day for the online gaming sector and bwin.party is now in a position to leverage its combined resources to take maximum advantage of regulating markets and the exciting opportunities in the real money gaming and digital entertainment sectors."