Party
Gaming Plc
and
Sportingbet Plc
in £800m battle for control of Empire Online
PartyGaming, the world's largest online gambling group, is considering a rival bid for Empire Online, the Aim-listed online betting firm which has received a potential £791m takeover offer from Sportingbet.
Empire Online said on Friday that it had been approached by an undisclosed company that was considering offering 270p per share for the company in a mixture of cash and shares. The offer, which would value the company at £791m, is subject to due diligence. Sportingbet, the undisclosed company, is an online gambling rival, has a market value of £1.24bn.
Sportingbet specialises in sports betting but diversified last year buying the online poker business Paradise Poker.
"There can be no certainty whatsoever that agreement will be reached and an offer will be forthcoming," Sportingbet said in a statement.
A rival bid from PartyGaming could lead to a bidding war for Empire Online and drive up the share price. Last week the shares rose by 6.8 per cent to close at 264p.
PartyGaming executives and the company's financial advisers were understood to be evaluating options this weekend, as PartyGaming and Empire Online already have a commercial relationship - a move that analysts believe makes a deal between the two companies more likely.
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