|
Consolidation activity in the gambling industry
has gathered pace as higher taxes and regulations in some of the
biggest markets hurt companies.
Shares of Bwin rose as much as 5 percent to 99.70 pence after
GVC's statement. The stock had gained 7 percent earlier in the
day on reignited hopes of a deal.
GVC said if Bwin were to agree to a deal, it would be treated as
a reverse takeover due to Bwin's size.
Bwin had a market value of about 734 million pounds ($1.15
billion) as of Thursday close, more than double that of GVC.
GVC's shares were down 1.5 percent at 452.55 pence at 1140 GMT
on the London Stock Exchange.
GVC Holdings Chief Executive Kenneth Alexander had told Reuters
in March that "something like" Bwin would be of interest to the
company.
Bwin confirmed separately on Friday that it was continuing
discussions with a number of third parties, including GVC.
Bwin, created by the merger of sports betting group bwin and
online poker group PartyGaming in 2011, said in November that it
was considering a range of proposals from interested parties.
($1 = 0.6362 pounds)
(Reporting by Aastha Agnihotri in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj
Kalluvila)
[© 2015 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2015 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
|
