Amaya comments on share price surge amid PokerStars rumours
Canadian gaming supplier tries to dampen speculation after it's linked to M&A activity with online poker giant
Amaya Gaming has tried to dampen speculation linking it to a merger deal with PokerStars that saw its share price rise by almost a third since Friday, with a carefully worded statement that came short of an outright denial.
Gambling news site CalvinAyre reported on Saturday the two firms have struck a deal which would see Amaya take control of PokerStars in order secure its re-entry into the regulated US market.
The story followed news Amaya’s share price rose by more than 30% to as high as CA11.45c at the end of last week before settling at 10.55c at the end of Monday having been stable at around 7.5c earlier this month.
On the back of the share price rise the Canadian supplier yesterday issued a statement which, while not ruling out the deal, made clear that no agreement is in place at this time.
“Strategic acquisitions have been and are one component of the company’s growth strategy and, as such, Amaya regularly evaluates potential acquisition opportunities,” the Amaya statement said.
“From time to time, this process leads to discussions with potential acquisition targets. There can be no assurance that any such discussions will ultimately lead to a transaction. As a general policy, Amaya does not publicly comment on potential acquisitions unless and until a binding legal agreement has been signed,” the statement added.
Amaya has an aggressive acquisition growth strategy with the firm’s deals including buying the Ongame poker network from bwin.party and land-based provider Cadillac Jack in 2012 as well as lottery provider Diamond Game in 2013.
But the rumoured acquisition of PokerStars would be by far its largest move to-date and seems logistically challenging with Amaya’s current balance sheet and market capitalisation values.
PokerStars declined to comment on this article.