(MENAFN- ProactiveInvestors) London listed global online gaming specialist (LON:888) appears to have lost out in the takeover battle for Bwin.Party (LON:BPTY) after a significantly higher bid from betting and gaming firm GVC Holdings (LONL:GVC) was recommended this morning.
The offer is 25p plus 0.231 GVC shares for each Bwin share equating to just under 130p per share.
Bwin’s board agreed to the recommended offer which values the Foxy Bingo owner at around £1.12bn (US$1.72bn).
It represents a 12.5% premium to Bwin’s closing price on Thursday and a 45% premium to the closing price on May 14 the last business day before Bwin confirmed it had received a bid.
The agreement was confirmed at a meeting on Thursday.
Broker Peel Hunt said: “It is not a big surprise that bwin management has folded on 888 and gone with GVC” but said it would not rule out a further twist.
“888 has had ample opportunity to increase its offer and therefore it would seem unlikely it will do so now. However we wouldn’t completely rule it out.”
Last month Bwin had agreed to accept 888’s £900mln offer ahead of a higher bid from GVC with analysts suggesting the team-up was a better fit than with GVC.
Peel Hunt said at the time that Bwin choosing the lower offer “suggests that there is greater confidence in the equity upside from 888.”
GVC returned to the table with a higher bid of just under £1bn a week after and at the start of this month raised its offer to over £1bn.
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