In a saga that has expanded for months now, GVC finally triumphs over 888 in the Bwin.Party bid. On July 17th 2015 we brought you news that 888 agrees to acquire Bwin.party for £898.3 Milion in cash and shares but GVC stepped it up with an offer of £1.116 bn, a value of 129.64 pence per share. The board of Bwin.party accepted the takeover bid from GVC Holdings and withdrew it’s recommendation to accept 888 Holding’s previous offer.
Bwin.party Chairman elaborated on the acceptance of GVC’s offer, “In recommending the offer from GVC, the board has taken into account many factors including, but not limited to, the headline value per share and the consideration being offered, the level, timing and deliverability of the financial synergies to be generated and the enlarged Group’s growth strategy in an increasingly competitive marketplace.”
“As a result of these and other factors, including the proven track record of GVC’s management team in creating substantial value for shareholders, after a carefully managed and diligent review process, the board has withdrawn its recommendation for the 888 offer and is now advising bwin.party shareholders to vote in favour of the offer from GVC.”
Further commenting on the GVC offer that came in 2.9 percent higher than 888’s revised proposal for Bwin.party is GVC’s Chief Executive Officer, Kenny Alexander, “GVC is the natural partner for bwin.party considering our strong sports betting and online gaming pedigree.
“Sports betting is in our DNA and leveraging GVC’s experience of successfully acquiring and restructuring online gaming businesses, notably Sportingbet in 2013, we look forward to merging the two operations to deliver long term value for combined shareholders.
“GVC has been working closely with bwin.party’s management and has identified many talented individuals with whom it looks forward to working to ensure the future success of the enlarged business.”
