Consolidation Ping Pong
Published: Monday, November 06, 2006 Online-Casinos.com
CONSOLIDATION PING PONG
Or, who's trying to take over who....
Unconfirmed weekend whispers from unnamed sources continued to be denied as the week started, with the Austrian publicly listed betting group Bwin denying rumours that it was considering selling part of its online interests to Party Gaming.
"We are talking to PartyGaming, like with all other big firms, about lobbying together to show a united stance for the industry in the European Union," said Karin Klein, spokeswoman for bwin. "But we are not talking to PartyGaming about a sale."
A source close to the situation had told Reuters on Saturday that talks were underway.
The report had helped lift bwin shares by some 15 percent in early Monday morning trade.
By 0945 GMT, bwin shares were up 5.6 percent at Euro 16.85.
The pressure for consolidation in the sector has increased as online gaming companies search for synergies to improve margins in the wake of the United States restricting financial transactions to online gambling sites last month (see previous Online-Casinos.com/InfoPowa reports).
Bwin is currently fighting a ban imposed by three German federal states on commercial betting in its key market and is also revising its marketing and sponsorship strategy. In October, the company stopped accepting customers from the U.S.
Bwin shares have lost more than 80 percent of their value since the start of the year.
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