UPDATE 11/02: WPT released a statement saying they had rejected Mandalay’s offer and would proceed with the originally planned sale to Party – despite the shiny price tag attached to Mandalay’s offer: “The board of directors of WPTE reviewed the Mandalay Proposal and concluded that it was not a Superior Proposal (as defined in the Agreement). On October 30, 2009, WPTE received a modified written offer from Mandalay Media (the “Modified Mandalay Proposal”). On October 31, 2009 the board of directors of WPTE reviewed the Modified Mandalay Proposal and concluded that it was not a Superior Proposal.”
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Earlier the year, the solvency and continued operation of the World Poker Tour were being questioned. Now there’s a bidding war for who is going to buy company.
WPT Enterprises Inc. has been entertaining bids for the company, and early this morning Mandalay Media upped its offer for the once-troubled company from $35 million to $36.5 million. That’s an amazing turnaround from earlier this year, when a company called Gamynia Ltd. offered just $9M to take over the WPT.
Recently, PartyGaming subsidiary Peerless Media Limited put in a bid for the WPT that was more than $12M. Fast forward to today, when Mandalay Media’s bid has nearly tripled the asking price. Mandalay Media is “a development stage digital media company whose mission is to build a strategic combination of new media infrastructure, distribution, and digital content companie,” according to their Web site. Clearly the company has big plans for what it can do with the WPT if it takes over.
It’s quite a whirlwind of activity and an upswing for the WPT, which had been losing money, lost its deal with the Game Show Network on U.S. cable television, and its stock was heading into penny-stock territory. Not surprisingly, WPT’s stock saw a nice percentage increase in the last day as the news on the potential takeover has come out.
More on the deal — and the potential impact it will have on the WPT — when and if it gets done.
Get your daily dose of poker news with the PTP Hit and Run.
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