Internet Casino For Poker Giant Empire Online
Published: Friday, August 05, 2005 Online-Casinos.com
INTERNET CASINO FOR POKER GIANT
The poker giant Empire Online diversifies with online casino
In the build-up to its recent London listing, poker marketer Empire Online hinted that it may be in the market for an online casino, (see earlier InfoPowa reports) and that ambition became reality this week.
The company, which owns Empire Poker, disclosed that it has agreed to buy the Playtech-powered online casino site Club Dice and poker site Noble Poker for US$ 40 million. It is understood that Club Dice boasts a gambling base of some 70 000 active, real money players.
The Club Dice acquisition embraces three casino brands and one bingo brand, including Monaco Gold Casino.com, Carnival Casino.com and YouBingo in addition to the main Club Dice Casino brand.
Noble Poker is the largest member of Playtech's emerging iPoker network, and will be further marketed by Empire Online.
CEO Noam Lanir says he wants his company to be less reliant on any one technology provider. "In Club Dice and Noble Poker we have bought running businesses which achieve a strategic objective of diversifying our base of technology providers" he said.
Empire Poker provided around 4 percent of industry leader Party Gaming's 2004 operating profit, but is thought to provide as much as 20 percent of its liquidity, according to analysts.
Empire Online, which floated on the London market six weeks ago, had $47 million cash in the bank. Its shares have raced up from the placing price of 175p to 223p.
Finance director Yossef Pereg declined to disclose the two individuals selling their businesses, and said the group could take up to three months to complete due dilligence.
First-half profits from Empire jumped 87 percent to $25.5 milion on revenue virtually doubled to $49.7million.
It could take another three months to complete the deal, as due diligence and shareholder approval formalities have yet to be finalised.
Analysts speculated last month that it would make sense for Party Gaming to buy up Empire Online due to its high contribution possibilities.
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