GVC takes tough stance as bwin talks continue

GVC Holdings this morning said it had made “significant progress” in its bid to acquire bwin.party as negotiations enter their third week, but reports suggest it could walk away should bwin.party not ask rival bidder 888 to increase its bid.

Both GVC and bwin.party released a statement to the market this morning in which they said they were continuing to work closely on finalising details of GVC’s 124p per share proposal, which was lodged on 7 August.

On current valuations, 888’s bid equates to approximately £900m while GVC’s proposal is in the region of £1.1bn, although the firm has made clear it would be prepared to go higher if need be. Yet, despite this, 888 currently remains the preferred bidder, a position which has reportedly irked GVC.

And the protracted battle between the two firms is fast becoming fractious with The Sunday Times reporting that GVC had threatened to walkout on negotiations should 888 not be asked to raise its lower bid.

However, according to a source at 888, which is increasingly frustrated at the slow negotiation process, GVC should instead concentrate on making a firm bid and then let bwin.party take the appropriate course of action.

A spokesperson for GVC this morning told eGaming Review that a walkout would be an unlikely scenario and that the firm would continue to do everything in its power to beat 888 in the race for bwin.party’s signature.

Last week, 888 chief operating officer Itai Frieberger told eGR his firm wouldn’t be prepared to get involved in a bidding war for bwin.party.