More major industry news - Paradise tries to buy Empire

[2Tone]

Not only do I love to play poker online, I'm also fascinated by the maneuvering in the industry. These are great business stories, and I wish they'd get more coverage in the U.S. Why isn't Card Player all over these stories? You'd think the players on these sites would want to know ...



PartyGaming, the newly floated £6bn online gaming group, will face pressure this week to reveal whether it plans to spark an £800m-plus takeover battle with a rival offer for Empire Online, the internet poker operator.

Sportingbet, which operates the Paradise Poker.com site, will this morning confirm that it was the mystery suitor behind a £790m cash-and-shares approach to Empire on Friday.

[2Tone]

"Sportingbet, which had net cash of £19m in June, made a small bolt-on acquisition last month, while Empire made two. All three companies declined to comment."

One of Empire's acquistion was Noble. () Was Titan the other? Anybody know?

Also, the article doesn't mention it (which it really should), but when thinking about these developments, keep in mind Pacific is likely trying to buy Stars.

[omahilo]

as long as pacific doesnt replace stars interface/software with their shitty software, it shouldnt be a issue lol.

[Talking Poker]

I too find all of this fascinating.

I'm not sure what Empire's other acquisition was, but it wasn't Titan. Titan was started up by the people who SOLD Noble...

You would think Party would be very interested in Empire... That would have to be one of the easiest acquisitions ever, since they are already effectively the same site and all...

For now, I don't think we as players will notice any difference as these sites change hands... Maybe in a couple of years, but this business game is just beginning. Personally, I think there is going to be a LOT of consolidation in the industry over the next 3-5 years.