Fox Rothschild LLP have been honored at the Finance Monthly Deal Maker of the Year awards, thanks to their integral work on Amaya Gaming’s $4.9 billion acquisition of the privately held Oldford Group.
The online poker deal of the century, Amaya Gaming’s $4.9 billion acquisition of Oldford Group Limited, has been honored in Finance Monthly by taking down one of the Deal Maker of the Year awards.
However, the award winners are not David Baazov and the gang; instead the trophies were handed out to a team of Fox Rothschild LLP attorneys. Spearheaded by partner Marie J. Jones, and joined by associates Mariel J. Giletto, Harry S. Jackson and Christian J. Fisher.
The quartet served as special counsel for Amaya Gaming during the $4.9 billion all-cash transaction of the privately held Oldford Group – the parent company of Rational Group Ltd., the king of the online poker world and owner of PokerStars and Full Tilt.
Fox Rothschild LLP were brought in to handle the gaming regulatory review and due diligence, and tied everything up into a nice neat parcel in less than 60 days. The group are also heavily involved in the process to launch PokerStars and Full Tilt in New Jersey, as they act as Amaya Gaming’s representatives in the licensing process.
The deal made Amaya Gaming the largest publicly held online poker company in the world.
The Finance Monthly Deal Maker Awards are in their fourth year of existence , and they are quickly becoming the industry standard for recognizing excellence in corporate finance.
Editor-in-chief, Mark Palmer, had this to say about the awards:
“With appetite for investment in some quarters seemingly back at pre-2008 levels, there can be little doubt that deals are there to be made. The savvy and successful investor works with the best advisory firms operating today and together they lead the way in producing some of the most notable deals of 2014. The Finance Monthly Dealmaker Awards 2014 are testament to the talent and hard work of all those involved.”
The initial reaction to the deal was warm and cuddly, but that quickly turned to cold and thorny, as PokerStars brought in a wide range of cost cutting initiatives that had their players up in arms. The Red Spade have since rescinded planned rake increases, and that’s gone someway to restoring their once impeccable reputation.
It’s believed that PokerStars will be offering a fully regulated online poker room in New Jersey by the end of March 2015.
