Recently, there has been much speculation about the futures of e-gaming giants Bwin and Party Gaming, and whether or not they would join forces to become the world’s biggest online gambling company. After weeks of rumours, it has finally been announced that the two companies will, in fact, merge.
The major shareholder of the new joint venture will be Bwin, who has a 51.64% share of the company, while Party Gaming has 48.36%. Following the announcement, both companies share prices on the LSE increased significantly, with PartyGaming now at €3 and Bwin at €40.Their new joint company will also be listed on the LSE.
“This is a transformational opportunity for both our companies to create the world’s largest listed online gaming business,” says Party Gaming CEO Jim Ryan. “With market-leading positions in poker, sports betting, casino and games (in particular bingo), the enlarged group will have a winning formula to exploit the growing online gaming market”.
The company will use the best of both worlds, taking the most talented employees from both Bwin and PartyGaming to run the team. Joachim Baca from Bwin will be the new CEO, while Party Gaming’s Martin Weigold will be the group finance director.
The company will undoubtedly be the biggest online gambling venture in the world. Now, with both companies having obtained licenses in France, Bwin and Party Gaming have opened themselves up to a whole world of opportunities in which their new company will thrive.
