Bwin.party calls on GVC to table "best offer"

Bwin.party this morning asked GVC Holdings to formally submit its best offer as the long-running battle to acquire the beleaguered operator rumbles on.

In a statement, bwin.party said it was “satisfied” with the key aspects of GVC’s proposal, and asked the operator to clarify “the best terms” on which it will make a formal offer.

Bwin.party said that 888, which currently holds recommended bidder status, had been informed of the development and that in the event a formal GVC offer, it would decide on the 1 September whether to put the offer in front of the board.

888 issued its own statement this afternoon saying it “noted” the announcement made by bwin.party and said it still believed its offer would “generate significant value for both sets of shareholders”.

888 and bwin.party both report their H1 2015 financial results tomorrow, and 888 said it would also publish a prospectus and shareholder circular in relation to the deal.

Earlier this week GVC said it has made “significant progress” in its bid to acquire bwin.party, but reports suggested it would walk away from the deal if rival bidder 888 didn’t up its offer.

On current valuations, 888’s bid equates to approximately £900m while GVC’s proposal is in the region of £1.1bn, although the firm has made clear it would be prepared to go higher if need be.

But last week, 888 chief operating officer Itai Frieberger told eGR his firm wouldn’t be prepared to get involved in a bidding war for bwin.party.

And bwin.party said in its statement this morning that the board’s unanimous recommendation of 888’s offer was unchanged by the announcement.