WPT Shareholders Vote For Partygaming

Despite a better offer, it looks as if Mandalay has lost out

Mandalay Media's last minute attempt to snatch World Poker Tour Enterprises from PartyGaming's acquisition offer appears to have failed.

The special shareholders' meeting which Mandalay sought to have postponed was held on the 30 October as planned, and the Party Gaming deal has been accepted by the shareholders despite being substantially inferior - on paper at least.

The Mandalay offer put $35 million in cash and stock on the table, pricing the business at a 54 percent premium over the WPTE's closing price on 26 October, and enabling investors to directly benefit. In contrast, the earler Peerless Media (a subsidiary of Party Gaming) bid, put up $12.3 million in cash to the company, and 5 percent in revenue sharing going forward.