WPT Enterprises agreed to sell its assets to its largest customer, PartyPoker parent PartyGaming (PartyGaming's sponsorship payments accounted for 30% of WPTE's revenue so far this year). PartyGaming's $12.3 million offer trumped Gamynia's previous offer of $9.1 million. WPT Enterprises will have to pay a $1 million termination fee to get out of its agreement with Gamynia, but PartyGaming is paying that amount up front. PartyGaming will also pay 5% of future revenue generated by the World Poker Tour brand, guaranteed to be at least $3 million over the next three years, which is also better than Gamynia's offer. The sale is expected to close in the fourth quarter, after which a World Poker Tour-branded online poker site should appear. WPT Enterprises still plans to retain its investments and move into another business. CEO Steve Lipscomb is entitled to a substantial bonus for the sale: 5% (about $600,000) plus six months' severance (though I have no information that he will be terminated).
PartyPoker is the fourth largest online poker site/network in the world, and it doesn't take US players. The World Poker Tour, on the other hand, has most of its events in the US. The big two poker rooms (Stars and FTP) take US customers, so they might seem to be a better fit. The uncertain legal environment for online poker in the US, however, prevents US-friendly sites from satelliteing players into tournaments. Additionally, a US subsidiary of these companies would be at legal risk. PartyPoker's customers are mostly European, but they'll be able to satellite their players directly into US World Poker Tour events and add European ones. If PartyPoker is anywhere near as successful with the World Poker Tour as PokerStars has been with the European Poker Tour, this will be a boost to the WPT.
For more information see the press release, WPT Enterprises's SEC filing, and the attachments to it: asset purchase agreement, guaranty, and voting agreement.
Don't miss any poker on TV: sign up for our weekly newsletter or subscribe to our feed.
Monday, August 24, 2009
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comments:
The Financial Times has some comments from PartyGaming: "We can have World Poker Tour events and it would be sponsored by, say, Partypoker."
Post a Comment