Amaya, 888 Holdings Battle it Out for Bwin.Party: $1.5 Billion on the Line

Amaya Gaming, the parent company of PokerStars, jumped into the bidding war for struggling online gambling firm Bwin.Party.

Struggling as it may, Bwin.party remains one of the most sought after betting companies in the world. 

Rival GVC announced its intention to bid for Bwin.party last week.

GVC Holdings Chief Executive Kenneth Alexander told Reuters in March that "something like" Bwin.party would be of interest to the company.

"I certainly think it's realistic to think you would get an offer pitched at the 115 (pence per share) level. Possibly higher if you've got multiple bidders," said Canaccord Genuity analyst Simon Davies.

On Friday, shares in Bwin.party rose 10.05p, or 11.2pc, to 99.45p - reaching their highest level since February.  By Monday’s close they had reached 108.00, the best performance on the FTSE 250 this day.  Tuesday could see another surge as Amaya’s interest was reported after Monday’s closing bell.

- Aaron Goldstein, Gambling911.com