Bwin.party sells World Poker Tour to China-based Ourgame
Operator divests World Poker Tour subsidiary to online and mobile card and board game platform developer for $35m
Bwin.party has sold its World Poker Tour (WPT) subsidiary to China-based Ourgame International Holdings for US$35m (£22m) in an all cash transaction.
Under terms of the deal bwin.party will continue to sponsor various WPT events and television shows in both Europe and the US until the end of next year, and has first refusal over any additional sponsorship opportunities that may become available during that period.
Ourgame, an online and mobile casual games provider with a focus on card and board games, has been working with the WPT on live events in China since 2012 and previously helped organise the WPT National China.
In a statement Ourgame said it would look to use the acquisition to create a “mind sports ecosystem” and use the WPT brand and TV assets as the first step toward evolving into a global media and sports entertainment operation.
Bwin.party acquired the World Poker Tour for $12.3m back in September 2009, with the WPT reporting total revenues of $11.8m and a clean EBITDA loss of $4.6m last year.
Bwin.party CFO Martin Weigold said the operator had built the WPT into a “global franchise” but the sale was consistent with its strategy to divest non-core assets.
“We believe that now is the right time to release that value for shareholders so that we can focus our efforts on our core real-money gaming and technology business,” Weigold said.
The news comes as the operator continues to mull offers from 888 and GVC/Amaya Gaming to acquire the firm in its entirety.
Earlier this month the operator’s share price tumbled 10% after independent trustees linked to PartyGaming founders Ruth Parasol DeLeon and Russell DeLeon sold the remainder of their shareholdings totalling approximately 50 million shares.