Amaya completes PokerStars and Full Tilt buyout
$4.9bn deal announced six weeks ago is completed as Amaya CEO David Baazov promises to "maintain PokerStars values"
Amaya Gaming’s $4.9bn acquisition of Rational Group, the parent company of Full Tilt and PokerStars, has been completed just six weeks after it was announced.
The deal sees the Canadian B2B supplier create an egaming powerhouse and could see PokerStars make a return to the US market later this year.
Outgoing Rational Group founder and CEO Mark Scheinberg said he is “happy” to see the brands being transferred to a “strong new ownership”.
“I’m confident that Amaya, together with Rational Group’s leadership, will continue to successfully grow the business into the future,” he said.
Read our analysis of the deal here
Earlier this week Amaya’s shareholders gave the green light to the company’s planned financing structure for the takeover.
It also received approval from the regulator in each jurisdiction that PokerStars and Full Tilt operates including Italy, Greece, and Spain, as well as the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX).
“We are extremely pleased to have completed this Acquisition,” David Baazov, chairman and CEO of Amaya, said. “Through PokerStars, Full Tilt and its multiple live poker tours and events, Rational’s brands comprise the world’s largest poker business, generating diversified and recurring revenues across the globe from its extremely loyal customer base.
“Rational’s success is attributable to the company’s core values of integrity, customer focus, and challenge. These values are ingrained in the DNA of the company’s staff located across the globe, led by Rational’s deep, experienced executive and leadership teams. We intend for Rational to maintain this culture and will support its initiatives to continue growing this world class business.”