GVC plays a winning hand in high-stakes takeover battle for Bwin.party

The billion-pound poker match to take over online-gambling firm bwin.party has ended with victory for GVC over its rival, 888.

After months of wrangling, the Bwin board, led by chairman Philip Yea, recommended GVC’s share and cash offer worth just shy of 130p which values the business at £1.16 billion.

That topped 888’s last share and cash offer, made at the weekend, which valued Bwin at around 115p a share.

But Yea said the decision had not been made on price alone. He said: “We talked to investors who hold more than 50% of our shares and gave them some of the information which wasn’t out there.

“In the end GVC could deliver and deliver more quickly on the synergies, offered greater integration benefits and are larger and quicker.”

But the agreed takeover could see the end of some of Bwin’s most-generous sports sponsorship deals.

It has already stopped backing Manchester United, Munich and Marseille and is in its final season with Moto GP.

It currently has sponsorship deals with Real Madrid, Juventus and Anderlecht.

GVC chief executive Kenny Alexander said: “We will be toning back some of Bwin’s sponsorship. They have done very well out of sports sponsorship in the past but there are other, more-efficient ways of marketing now.”

The deal already has the backing of Bwin’s board and one of its largest institutional investors, Henderson, who together hold 10.8% of the shares.

Private-equity firm Cerberus is providing £291 million of debt and GVC has raised another £150 million through a placing of new shares for the cash element of the bid.

Bwin investors will own 66.6% of the enlarged GVC which will move its listing from the junior AIM market to the main stock market.