Amaya shareholders approve PokerStars acquisition
Planned financing structure for US$4.9bn takeover of the Rational Group given the go-ahead by Amaya shareholders
Amaya Gaming moved another step closer to completing its US$4.9bn acquisition of PokerStars’ parent company after shareholders approved the deal at a special meeting yesterday.
Crucially, Amaya’s shareholders gave the green light to the company’s planned financing structure for the takeover of the Rational Group, which also owns the Full Tilt brand.
“On behalf of the board of directors, I wish to extend my appreciation to shareholders for their overwhelming support of the acquisition of the Rational Group,” Amaya’s CEO David Baazov, said.
The big-money buyout was revealed last month and the company said it was now working with the Rational Group to move “expeditiously towards completion” of the deal, with the transaction expected to close sometime in September.
Earlier this week gaming supplier Amaya revealed it had 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).
Amaya has already kicked off its relationship with the Rational Group after striking a deal to provide Full Tilt’s recently launched casino with a catalogue of games.
The approvals are also likely to boost PokerStars chances of returning to the regulated US egaming market, with the New Jersey regulator saying it could be up and running as early as fall.
PokerStars has signed a deal with Resorts Casino in the Garden State, which plans to go live with both PokerStars and Full Tilt offerings alongside its ResortsCasino.com site.