PartyGaming Acquires The World Poker Tour
9th November, 2009
The world’s leading online gambling company, Party Gaming, has announced the acquisition of WPT Enterprises Inc. The sale cost $12.3million in addition to a minimum aggregate payment of $3million during the next 3 years in relation to an ongoing rev share agreement.
The purchase includes the world poker tour brand and rights to land based events both in the US and in Europe and any intellectual property rights which are associated with the World Poker Tour. In addition to this, the purchase includes a vast library of more than 150hrs of poker programming which is broadcast in over 150 countries worldwide. Furthermore, the rights to the clubWPT subscription poker offering which has over 16,500 paying customers in 37 States.
Jim Ryan, PartyGaming Chief Executive Officer, said of the announcement, “This deal brings together two of the biggest brands in online and offline poker – Party Poker and World Poker Tour – that we will market internationally to build our poker business. Our plans also include using the ClubWPT subscription platform to leverage our 12 million-strong US player database via a Party-branded website and the launch of a European WPT-branded poker and casino site. We are excited about the opportunities that WPT, a proven marketing channel for the Group, will create for PartyGaming, particularly if the US regulates and licenses online gaming.”
Steve Lipscomb, the founder of WPTE, further commented that, “PartyGaming has been an important partner for a number of years and we are confident that they will be an excellent manager of our brands in the future. Combining two of the pioneers and leaders in the poker and online gaming markets will create a strong vehicle for the WPT brand to continue its global expansion.”
By Faye
