Amaya Weighing Offers; PokerStars to modify Hands Again? | PokerNews
Amaya Inc., parent company of PokerStars, is weighing a variety of possible future moves that might see the world's leading online poker operator change hands again, Reuters reported Friday.
The most prominent and maybe interesting of possibilities is a merger with sports betting giant William Hill. The 2 companies confirmed in an announcement from Amaya that they've been in talks for a possible" all share merger of equals."
"Amaya have been undertaking a review of its strategic alternatives since February 2016," Amaya stated. "Over recent months, the board of William Hill was evaluating options to accelerate William Hill's process of increasing diversification by growing its digital and international businesses."
Since acquiring PokerStars in 2014, Amaya has made a transparent effort to diversify the web poker giant's revenues. The corporate added a sports betting vertical, BetStars, and purchased daily fantasy sports operator Victiv, which was rebranded as StarsDraft.
Given that, the appeal of a merger with William Hill is apparent. Each company brings an immense customer base to bear for the opposite to simply access and market to: William Hill's sports bettors could potentially become Amaya's poker players besides and vice versa. Both companies could potentially strengthen their weaker verticals. William Hill currently operates a web-based poker site under the iPoker network.
"The potential merger can be in line with the strategic objectives of both William Hill and Amaya and would create a transparent international leader across online sports betting, poker and casino," the click release stated.
William Hill serves because the sportsbook operator for various Las Vegas casinos, including SLS, Four Queens, Binion's and Hooters.
Another potential move mentioned by Reuters, citing anonymous, was an acquisition by GVC Holdings PLC, owner and operator of longtime online poker giant partypoker. While PokerStars remains by far and away the market leader, partypoker currently ranks third in online traffic with a seven-day average of 1,050 cash players in step with PokerScout.
One possible buyer was explicitly mentioned as out of the running by the Reuters report: founder and previous CEO David Baazov. Baazov's troubles has been well-documented. He temporarily stepped clear of the corporate in light of an as-yet-unresolved insider trading investigation earlier this year. The hiatus became permanent in August when Baazov resigned all positions inside the company.
Baazov had previously announced a cash bid to reacquire the corporate he took public. He most recently made headlines for failing to testify on the insider trading hearing against his associates. That bid is now on ice.
No matter what happens, it is going to take some serious capital for somebody or entity to seize Amaya. Joss Wood of OnlinePokerReport estimated the company's market value at $3 billion.
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