Bwin.party and GVC shareholders approve £1.2bn deal

Bwin.party shareholders have comprehensively given their approval for the proposed takeover by GVC Holdings at meetings held this morning.

At a court meeting and a general meeting, bwin.party shareholders voted 94.5% and 99.9% in favour of the £1.1bn takeover respectively.

GVC shareholders also voted on the deal this morning, with 99.9% approving the takeover.

Bwin.party said the acquisition was still subject to approval by the court, but expected a decision would be made on 29 January with the deal set to complete shortly thereafter.

GVC won its long-running battle with 888 to acquire bwin.party back in September, with the potential of a sportsbook combination believed to be a deciding factor in bwin’s decision to side with GVC.

But following the deal being announced, bwin.party has suffered mixed fortunes with revenues down 10% to €133.4m in the third quarter of the year.

The operator has also seen a number of senior figures depart with board member Daniel Silvers stepping down and director of game labels Golan Shaked exiting the firm and the industry.

GVC will also have a number of headaches post-acquisition, with chief exec Kenneth Alexander recently casting doubt over whether it will continue to run bwin.party’s Stateside operations.

Bwin.party’s share price was up 0.8% to 114.8p at the time of writing.