Bwin.party Sees Shares Skyrocket Friday Following Blockbuster Deal
Shares in Bwin.party Digital Entertainment were up following Friday’s confirmation that 888 Holdings had agreed to buy the stock in a cash and stock deal worth around £898.3m, beating a rival offer from GVC.
The news of the sale was all but certain after the Financial Times and Gambling911.com received notice from key people within the organizations on Thursday afternoon.
Jason Ader, a major shareholder of the company, and New York based hedge-fund owner issued the following statement to Gambling911.com earlier Friday:
“I have worked closely with the BWIN.Party board to maximize value for all of shareholders throughout the year. I brought 888 into the process to maximize shareholder value because I believe not only are 888 the best buyer for this company but that its management team will realize significant long-term synergy value for our shareholders with the least amount of execution and regulatory risk.”
Bwin shareholders will receive 39.45p and 0.404 new 888 shares for each share they own.
The offer represents a value of around 104.9p per Bwin share, which is a premium of approximately 16.4% cent to the closing price of Bwin on 14 May. That was the first day in which news began circulating about a possible takeover.
- Ace King, Gambling911.com
