GVC back at the table with $1.6bn move for bwin.party
Two operators confirm they are working together on a potential deal after GVC makes fully-funded 125.5p per share proposal
GVC Holdings confirmed it has made a fully-funded proposal in excess of £1bn ($1.6bn) to acquire bwin.party as the firm looks to snatch the beleaguered away from rival bidder 888. [private]
The Sportingbet owner has teamed up with Gala Coral shareholder Cerberus Capital Management to put together a revised 125.5p per share offer, which is an increase on original its bid of 110p, although the 25p per share cash element remains unchanged.
The revised figure is significantly higher than the £898m ($1.4bn), or 104.p per share, deal accepted by bwin.party from 888 last month, a price that was already lower than GVCâs original proposal of £906m ($1.4bn).
The new 125.5p per share proposal is also larger than the 122.5p valuation reported last week, however the increase is due to a recent rise in the valuation of GVC shares.
GVC said it was working closely with bwin.party and its advisors in order to âprogress the remaining open aspects of its proposalâ so that the bwin.party board and make a âfull evaluationâ of its bid.
âGVC anticipates that this work should conclude within the next five to ten business days,â GVC said in a statement.
Bwin.party confirmed it had received a revised offer from GVC and said it was âworking closelyâ with the operator and its advisors âwith a view to progressing certain aspectsâ of its proposal to put before the board.
However, bwin.party said there âcan be no certainty that an offer will be made by GVCâ and that the boardâs âunanimous recommendationâ for accepting 888âs bid was unchanged.