Can GVC trump 888 over Bwin.party? Rivals square up over gambling site acquisition

Who has the best hand when it comes to taking over Bwin.party?

 

The gambling site may have secured a deal from 888, but now rival group GVC Holdings has confirmed it is in talks about how to get in on the action. 

 

Last week 888 made an offer for the business of 104.09p per share, valuing the site at £898.3m, prompting both companies' share prices to rise. 

 

Prior to that Aim-listed GVC had made an offer for 110p per share – made up of new GVC shares and cash – equal to more than £906.5m. The offer had been made alongside partner Amaya, and involved the break up of Bwin between the two businesses. 

 

However now GVC is considering going it alone as it looks to trump 888. 

 

The board this morning issued a statement confirminh that “it is considering the company's options regarding bwin.party and will update shareholders accordingly”.

 

But Bwin's investors don't appear too happy about the move: its share price dipped 0.5 per cent as markets opened. GVC's share price was up 1.2 per cent. 

 

Bwin has been up for sale since November.