PartyGaming executives and the company\’s financial advisers were understood to be evaluating options to counter the 270p per share offer from Sportingbet.
Industry sources said that it would be a “surprise” if PartyGaming did not counterbid as it would not “want to lose one of its best sources of business.”
Empire Online effectively acts as a marketing company driving customers to PartyGaming\’s website PartyPoker. If Sportingbet succeeds in buying Empire Online it could divert valuable customers away from PartyGaming and re-route them to its own services.
Some analysts speculated that a bidding war could result in a takeout price of up to 360p per share, valuing Empire Online at 1 billion.
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