GVC "not ruling anything out" in bwin.party battle
Operator contemplates fresh bid after Friday's announcement that 888 and bwin.party have agreed a £898m deal
GVC Holdings looks set to table an improved offer to acquire bwin.party in a bid to trump 888, which on Friday revealed it had agreed an £898m deal to buy the beleaguered operator.
eGaming Review understands GVC was caught off guard by last week’s announcement, having been confident it would complete its proposed £906m deal “within weeks”.
“We thought we were in pole position” a GVC source close to the negotiations told eGR. “Something changed last week and they [bwin.party] seem to be accepting a poorer offer.
“But it’s not over yet,” the source added. “The bwin.party board have to get this [the lower 888 valuation] past shareholders and I understand Kenny [Alexander] and co are taking stock.”
Speaking to eGR this morning, a spokesperson for GVC said the firm was currently reviewing its position and would “not rule anything out either way”.
Despite having confirmed 888 as its preferred bidder last week, bwin.party remains open to a counter bid, although any revised GVC offer would need to address what bwin.party considered to be the “additional execution risks” associated with its initial proposal.
For now 888 remains the favourite to complete a deal which its COO Itai Frieberger exclusively told eGR last week offered “mind-blowing” potential and the opportunity to operate a proprietary sportsbook.
Related news:
– Exclusive interview: 888 COO Itai Frieberger on £900m deal
– Analysis: Bwin.party takes safe option with 888 deal