Bwin, PartyGaming Complete Merger: Makes Market Debut
Introducing the world’s newest largest online gambling company. Bwin and PartyGaming have announced the completion of a merger that connects Austria’s largest sports betting company to the 3rd largest Internet poker room. The combined company began trading on Thursday as bwin.party digital entertainment plc. under the symbol BPTY.
Heading up the new behemoth venture will be Norbert Teufelberger, bwin’s former CEO, and Jim Ryan, Party’s former CEO.
Teufelberger said, '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 capitalise on our market-leading positions in sports betting, poker, casino and games as well as bingo.'
The deal itself is the biggest in online gambling history, valued at $1.76 billion. Bwin.party digital entertainment plc has already positioned itself to enter the US market should the legal environment there change. It has already reportedly forged relationships with at least two major Las Vegas casinos to supply those establishments with its software platform.
“From an industrial point of view this is both an offensive and a defensive move,” said Gianmarco Bonacina, an analyst with Equita SIM SpA in Milan. “In Europe, Bwin and PartyGaming are losing market share in poker versus Pokerstars and Fulltilt, so the combination will protect them. In the U.S., the move is offensive. They want to attack that market and are in a better position if they combine.”
- Aaron Goldstein, Gambling911.com
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