Bwin.party finds buyer for Ongame unit

Online gaming outfit bwin.party digital entertainment has sold its Ongame business-to-business online poker network to US rival Shuffle Master.

The US firm is initially paying €19.5m in cash for Ongame with a top-up payment of up to €10.0m payable in cash in the event that regulated online poker commences in the United States on either a federal or intra-state basis within five years from completion. The earlier the US loosens up regulations on online gaming - assuming it does so within five years - the more money Bwin.party will receive from Shuffle Master.

Bwin.party was formed by the merger of bwin and Partygaming and has been looking to offload peripheral parts of the business more or less since the merger completed, as it wants to move to a single gaming platform, which will be easier to maintain and develop.

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Ongame has been up for sale since June of last year. In the second half of 2011 Ongame notched up adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation of €0.04m. At the end of June 2011 it had unaudited gross assets of €26.6m.

The management of Ongame will transfer with the business and the net sale proceeds will be used for general corporate purposes.

"Ongame is one of the world's leading online poker networks with a state-of-the-art technology platform," said Shuffle Master's Chief Executive Officer, Gavin Isaacs.

"It is an excellent strategic fit with Shuffle Master and our interactive gaming business. Following completion, we will focus on building the existing business in Europe as well as looking for growth opportunities in the rest of the world," Isaacs added.

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