Partypoker - Empire Poker Dispute Settled
Published: Thursday, February 16, 2006 Online-Casinos.com
PARTYPOKER - EMPIRE POKER DISPUTE SETTLED
US$ 250 million cash deal will assuage Empire's hurt feelings and help European
and Asian expansion
The bitter Party Gaming vs Empire Poker feuding came to an end this week with
the announcement that Party is to pay $250 million (GBP 144 million) in cash to
Empire Online to settle litigation between the online gambling companies. The
deal will in effect see Party Gaming acquiring the Empire sites that originally
fed its operation.
The two companies had been locked in dispute since last December when Party Gaming
switched players to an exclusive and improved version of its site, leaving Empire
skins on the old platform and detrimentally affecting the smaller company's profits.
Empire, which now uses its own Noble Poker brand, said it would "consider
carefully" how to use the $250 million windfall, but CEO Noam Lanir hinted
that it may be used to fuel expansion plans.
“This was a tough-but-necessary period in our development; we did not give
up and we emerged stronger,” said Lanir, who founded Empire Online. “We
anticipate $37 million in profit this year from our existing business. The PartyGaming
settlement will help support our efforts to enter into the European and Far Eastern
Markets.”
Empire Online reported positive results in the fourth quarter of 2005, due in
part to the success of their other online properties, Club Dice Casino and Noble
Poker.
Party Gaming's announcement said that there were a number of advantages to the
settlement, including:
* Acquisition of the EmpirePoker.com skin
* Further consolidation of the group’s strong market position in online gaming
* Conclusion of the skin strategy ahead of launch of fully-integrated, multi-gaming
platform
* It ensured the withdrawal of all legal claims by Empire Online Limited
* Expected to be earnings enhancing in the current financial year
Richard Segal, Chief Executive of PartyGaming, said: “This acquisition brings
our skins strategy to a close and consolidates our leading position in online
poker ahead of the launch of the fully-integrated, Party-branded platform. The
introduction of Blackjack last October marked the beginning of our cross-selling
strategy; the integrated platform will enable PartyGaming to take the cross-selling
of games to a new level.”
