bwin.party shares tumble due to failed acquisition talks

Friday 13 February marked a black day for Gibraltar based operator bwin.party, who lost almost 20% of its FTSE value as news reached traders that corporate suitors were no longer interested in its business.

The FTSE 250 listed igaming and sports betting operator would see its shares take a hit of 18.95P to 83.55p by end of trading on Friday 13.

Since Q4 2014, bwin.party had been highlighted as a potential takeover target within the online gambling sector. Several UK business news sources had indicated that competitors Amaya Gaming and Playtech Plc were interested in acquiring bwin.party operations causing a share price spike at the start of 2015.

The acquisition of bwin.party had been marked as highly likely by financial analysts as the online gambling sector has witnessed consolidation of its businesses throughout 2014 and early 2015. However business news sources on Friday 13 February indicated that bwin.party’s interested suitors were no longer keen to progress with any acquisition of the firm or its business services.

Having seen its potential acquisition stall, bwin.party will likely continue to undertake its corporate reform under Chairman Philip Yea and CEO Norbert Teufelberger as the operator looks to recover from an underwhelming 2014.

As part of its corporate recovery, Yea and Teufelberger have outlined that bwin.party would look to lower operational costs and focus on key product channels and markets in 2015. It is likely that the operator will sell-off parts of its business in the coming months as the operator looks to become a more attractive takeover proposition.