Breaking News:PartyGaming and Bwin Merge

The planned merger between PartyGaming and Bwin has finally been approved by its shareholders today.

More than 99% of PartyGaming’s shareholders approved the amalgamation with the Austrian internet casino; Bwin’s shareholders have collectively agreed the projected merger held at their own EGM today.

PartyGaming and Bwin will be re-named as bwin.party Digital Entertainment Plc as a result of both sets of shareholders voting in favour of the planned merger.

Giving feedback on the results of today’s EGMs, Jim Ryan and Norbert Teufelberger, the future co-CEOs of bwin.party digital entertainment plc, said: “The shareholder’s meetings held today has paved the way for future success, the transformational merger of our two internet casinos are on track and this bodes well for future revenue.

“It pleases us immensely that our respective shareholders have accepted the tactical, operational and financial benefits of creating the world’s largest listed internet casino.”

On the 23^rd of December last year PartyGaming released its shareholder prospectus. The 478-page document outlines comprehensively what the merged organisation and the world’s largest publicly listed internet gaming company would look like. On the 29^th of July both internet casinos announced their intentions to amalgamate.

According to the prospectus both internet casinos would keep their primary existing brands but operate under the banner of the new bwin.party Digital Entertainment plc holding company. The company’s headquarters will be in Gibraltar and listed on the London Stock Exchange with Bwin shareholders to retain 51.6% of shares and present PartyGaming shareholders 48.4%.

The union potentially creates a business with unaudited net revenues of €696.2m, unaudited clean EBITDA of €193.7m, unaudited proceeds after tax of €99.4m and unaudited net assets of €1.27bn after consolidation adjustments for the year ended 31 December 2009, the document said.

It goes further and stated that annual synergies ensuing from the merger will total in excess of €55m (£46m) with around €40m to be accomplished in the financial year 2012, with full synergies from 2013.

The document outlines the merger will concentrate on regulated and regulating markets. It will invest in and develop new products especially in the social gaming sphere, endeavour to foster long-term partnerships with leading sports books and to focus chiefly on the U.S market once internet gambling is regulated in the country.