Subject: Poker is reporting that Full Tilt Poker entered into an exclusive bargaining agreement with unspecified European investors on June 30, an arrangement that required FTP to cease all similar discussions with other prospective investors for at least three weeks. The three-week window is reportedly to allow the unnamed party to conduct due diligence and negotiate terms with FTP execs.
This appears to be the same deal that was reported by the Los Angeles Times on June 30, although the way the Times phrased the story led many to conclude that the agreement represented a completed sale. The negotiations are reportedly being assisted by FTP’s principal regulator, the Alderney Gambling Control Commission, as well as FTP’s French regulator ARJEL and the US Department of Justice. The DoJ’s involvement is crucial, as Subject: Poker’s sources say that FTP wants to ensure that the unnamed investor(s) is willing to put up enough cash to both pay off US players and cover a possible financial settlement stemming from the DoJ’s Black Friday civil complaint. Supposedly, terms of such a settlement have been outlined between FTP and the DoJ, although Subject: Poker was keen to point out that this claim had not been verified.
According to the Subject: Poker report, the unnamed investor(s) was first brought to the table in mid-May by Team Full Tilt member Phil Ivey. Presumably, FTP resisted this attempt at matchmaking, prompting Ivey to file his lawsuit against FTP software outfit Tiltware on May 31. But Ivey withdrew his suit on June 30, the same day FTP entered into the exclusive bargaining agreement with the mystery investor. This is pure conjecture, but it seem that in an apparent stare-off between Ivey and FTP, FTP blinked first.
