by Ryan D. Jaeger
There was no official comment by any of the representatives of two of the
industry's giants, bwin and Party Gaming, over reports that were written
by Reuters India this weekend.
The article quoted unnamed sources who are close to the merger discussions
between the two as saying that "the merger could be wrapped up by this summer."
The sources further said that the negotiations between the two companies have
reached "an intensive phase".
Negotiations have been ongoing between bwin and Party Gaming for some time
now and analysts believe that if a merger is announced, it could be one of the
biggest consolidations seen in the industry.
While neither parties have denied negotiations, there has been no solid
statement that discussions are ongoing.
The most official statement has come from Party Gaming, made to the London
Stock Exchange a while ago where it stated: "The board of Party Gaming confirms
that it is continuing to hold discussions with a number of companies in the
gaming sector regarding potential consolidation opportunities."
"As all such discussions remain at a preliminary stage, there can be no
certainty as to whether or not such discussions will result in any form of
transaction," Party Gaming continued.
Bwin has been equally non committing, saying: "Talks are going on, but we
don't know yet whether they will succeed."
A potential merger between the two entities could result in a group worth a
staggering $4 billion, complimenting each other perfectly in areas as broad as
sports betting, poker and casino games.
