It was reported today that Empire Online Ltd. (AIM: EOL) had received a takeover bid from another online gambling company. The bid reportedly totaled £2.7 per share, reflecting a company value of almost $1.5 billion. Empire Online held its IPO two months ago at a company value of $930 million.
Empire Online’s share was quick to respond, jumping over 9% to £2.73, higher than the share price in the reported takeover bid. Empire Online said it was seriously considering the offer.
The company added that co-founder and CFO Yossi Pereg was leaving his position, and would be replaced by Andrew Burns. Until recently, Burns was CFO of a British food company.
Israeli Noam Lanir founded Empire Online in 1998. Registered in the British Virgin Islands, the company’s headquarters are in Cyprus, and most of its business is in Europe. Although Lanir owns the largest block of Empire Online’s shares, the company is not active in Israel, and does not allow Israeli surfers to take part in its activity. Empire Online markets gambling websites, including 888.com, Pacific Poker, and Casino-On-Net. Online gambling company Cassava Enterprises (Gibraltar) Ltd., owned by Israeli families Shaked and Ben-Yitzhak, run these websites. Empire Online does not run its own gambling sites, and has no gaming technology.
A month ago, Empire Online announced the acquisition of Club Dice and Noble Poker from Antigua-based company Club Solutions for a total of $40 million in cash. Club Dice operates four gambling websites, including three casino sites (Club Dice Casino, MonacoGold Casino, and Carnival Casino) and one bingo site (YouBingo). Empire Online reports that these sites have 70,000 registered paying players. Empire Online is acquiring Club Dice’s base of players, a franchise for the brand names, and a franchise for gaming technology owned by the Playtech Limited company.
Published by Globes [online] - www.globes.co.il - on September 4, 2005