Amaya Gaming Acquires Ongame Poker Network
This was published 03-10-2012Amaya Gaming Group, the popular entertainment solutions provider for the regulated gaming industry, has announced that it recently acquired the Ongame Poker Network, a leading B2B online poker network, from Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment.
The deal is worth up to $32.2 million andMontrealbased Amaya Gaming Group will make an initial payment of $19.3 million to Bwin.Party in cash on completion of the deal. Payment is expected to be made during the fourth quarter of this year, subject to regulatory approval. Should online gaming be regulated in theUnited Statesover the next five years then Amaya will be required to pay additional payments of up to $12.9 million.
Chief Executive Officer of Amaya Gaming, David Baazov, said “The acquisition of Ongame bolsters Amaya Gaming’s product portfolio, transforming Amaya into a leading provider of gaming platforms. Amaya looks forward to unleashing Ongame’s technology to its full potential through the leveraging of our many B2B relationships and delivering new partners and players to the network. The Ongame platform is scalable, proven and secure and is well suited for quick deployment in new regulated markets. We’re excited about the wide range of opportunities this acquisition makes possible for us as we execute on our vision.”
Ongame is one of the world’s leading B2B poker providers and includes 25 of the e-gaming industry’s strongest brands that are owned by a total of 19 operators in regulated jurisdictions. These online poker rooms include Betfair, Betsson and Coral. The group also operates regional networks inItalyandFrance. Both operators and their players are offered a huge variety of cash games and tournaments to choose from at Ongame.
Jim Ryan and Norbert Teufelberger, the Co-CEO’s of Bwin.party, said that the sale of Ongame conforms to their strategy, especially as they move closer to launching their single, proprietary technology platform in the following few months. They added that they are certain that Ongame will fit well into Amaya Gaming and has an excellent future ahead.
