Canadian online gambling operator Intertain Group says it is in “advanced discussions” with an unidentified third party regarding a potential “significant acquisition of certain assets” worth “in the range of C$1b” (US $806m).
In a brief release on Tuesday, Intertain informed the markets that its potential acquisition was in no way a done deal and was subject to “the finalization of definitive documentation” and the approval of both companies’ boards.
The acquisition target is rumored to be the Gamesys Group, or portions thereof. In December, eGaming Review reported that the two companies were holding talks about a potential deal, which included the possibility of a long-term partnership. Prior to that, Intertain’s name was bandied about as one of the companies reportedly kicking the tires of Bwin.party digital entertainment.
Intertain emerged on the online gambling scene in late 2013 via its $70m purchase of the B2C operations of Amaya Gaming’s WagerLogic, which included the InterCasino brand. Within a year, Intertain paid $70m for the UK’s Mandalay Media bingo operations and signed a letter of intent to pay €89m for the Nordic-facing Vera&John online gambling operations. But this new deal would be exponentially larger than anything the company had previously pulled off.
Trading of Intertain shares was temporarily suspended on the Toronto Stock Exchange as the company made its announcement but trading has since resumed. Intertain’s stock has been on a tear in 2015, rising nearly 30% since Jan. 6 to its present value of $16.54. A similar rise was witnessed prior to Amaya’s mid-2014 $4.9b acquisition of the Rational Group, the parent company of PokerStars and Full Tilt. Amaya is the single largest shareholder in Intertain, holding 1.9m shares, representing about 8.7% of the company.
