US Investment firm set to buy 6% stake in bwin.party
SpringOwl Gibraltar subsidiary Cumberland Associates has agreed in principal to buy 49.8m of shares in the operator
An activist US-based investment firm is set to buy a 6.1% stake in bwin.party from the trusts owned by PartyGaming founders Ruth Parasol DeLeon and Russell DeLeon.
SpringOwl Gibraltar Partners, a subsidiary of Cumberland Associates, will purchase the shares from Emerald Bay and Stinson Ridge, the companies established by the PartyGaming founders after they revealed plans to sell their entire shareholding in the firm last year.
Cumberland Associates traditionally takes an active role in its investments and as part of the deal, which is set to be completed in the next few weeks, SpringOwl will have the right to appoint one director to bwin.party’s board.
Bwin.party’s share price rose 5.1% to 118.8p following the announcement of the deal.
The ex-PartyGaming duo elected to sell off their share after the New Jersey regulator said they would have been forced to undergo the stringent suitability checks carried out as part of bwin.party’s application.
For reasons of privacy, Parasol and her current husband James Russell DeLeon agreed with the New Jersey regulator to transfer their entire bwin.party shareholdings into separate divestiture trusts.
Since launching its online platform in New jersey with land-based partner the Borgata it has taken an early market-share lead with a 41% share of the market.
Bwin.party refused to comment.