Shufflemaster clarifies decision to withdraw from acquisition


Thursday June 28,2012 : SHOCK WITHDRAWAL FROM ONGAME SALE BY SHUFFLE MASTER (Update)
 
Shufflemaster clarifies decision to withdraw from acquisition
 
The collapse of Shuffle Master's acquisition deal of Bwin.party Digital Entertainment's Ongame Network Ltd caught many in the industry by surprise today (Wednesday).
 
The deal announced in March for a Euro 19.5 million consideration ended following a terse statement posted on bwin.party's investor website this morning.
 
Shuffle Master Inc’s chief executive officer, Gavin Isaacs provided more insight into the withdrawal through a statement saying : "It has become evident to us that Ongame's operations post-acquisition will not achieve the near-term results we initially expected and will require a larger ongoing investment than anticipated."
 
"Although we are disappointed in the outcome, after thorough due diligence we believe this is the right thing to do for our Company and our shareholders. We will continue to pursue opportunities to achieve our growth objectives in the online space, including leveraging and protecting our strong intellectual property and brands, and will investigate all prospects – both organic and acquisitive – that make strategic and financial sense," Isaacs added.
 
The company said it would continue to invest in its own content platform while considering other options for providing a B2B online poker product consistent with its other online offerings from web, social and mobile applications.