Acquisition of Full Tilt Poker and Poker Stars by Amaya Now Complete

19:20
01 Aug

Earlier today (August 1), Amaya Group announced the completion of the deal to acquire 100% of issued and outstanding shares of Oldford Group Limited, the parent company of Rational Group Ltd. In the statements announcing this acquisition, it was revealed that the Amaya would pay the lump sum of $4.9 billion to acquire all of the Rational Group’s products, including Poker Stars, Full Tilt and numerous live poker tours and events.

In their announcement, the Corporation once again confirmed their intention to continue leading the company along the same lines that brought it the huge success it enjoys today: values of integrity, customer focus and challaenge. Mark Scheinberg, the Rational Group Founder and CEO expressed his firm conviction that Amaya will continue leading the Rational Group down the path of success.

Since launching PokerStars in 2001 we have grown the business each year thanks to constant innovation, unparalleled customer service, and the talent of our dedicated workforce. While myself and other founders are departing, we are happy to see the business and the brands we have developed, along with the teams behind them, transferred to strong new ownership. I'm confident that Amaya, together with Rational Group's leadership, will continue to successfully grow the business into the future. Mark Scheinberg;
Amaya Group provides a full suite of gaming products and services, including casino, poker, sportsbook, lotteries and electronic game systems. It has a big influence in regulated markets across the globe, including the U.S. market.
The Rational Group owns and operates largest online poker site Poker Stars as well as Full Tilt Poker, European Poker Tour, PokerStars Caribbean Adventure, Latin American Poker Tour and the Asia Pacific Poker Tour. With this, apart from operating two of the largest online poker sites, the Group is also the largest producer of live poker events around the world.
Many believe that this acquisition is the strategic move that will allow Amaya to use its influence and resources to enter the U.S. market and seize their share there now that the old owners are out of the picture. Although at this point these are mostly just speculations, it would make perfect sense to try and enter the U.S. regulated market as soon as possible and start building a players’ base there.
The transaction has now been finalized so we will see what moves new owners have up their sleeve. It could, in fact, turn out to be a good deal for global poker as it could, down the road, grant Americans access to the biggest and arguably the best platform for online poker in existence today.

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