PokerStars to buy Full Tilt

Following the news that French investment group Groupe Bernard Tapie’s proposed deal to buy Full Tilt Poker has been derailed after both parties failed to agree terms regarding the repayment of player funds, it has emerged that PokerStars has reached an agreement to acquire its former competitor.

The specifics of the deal are not yet known, and no statement has yet come from any parties involved. Rumors that PokerStars has reached a deal with the DOJ to purchase Full Tilt Poker began swirling early Tuesday morning on poker forum 2+2.

Alex Dreyfus, CEO of Chili Gaming, stated on twitter that PokerStars has paid us$ 750 million to acquire Full Tilt and settle its outstanding legal issues with the DOJ. A reported us$ 330 million of that price will go to repay Full Tilt account holders with the remainder believed to be in settlement of outstanding charges against PokerStars.

Until now, Group Bernard Tapie was known to be in late-stage talks. According to sources at e-Gaming Magazine, “efforts to obtain final DoJ approval to acquire the assets of Full Tilt Poker have ended without success,” and that the deal was “sabbotaged,” according to iGamingFrance. As a point of comparison, PartyGaming (now known as bwin.party) co-founder Anurag Dikshit agreed to a plea deal with the DOJ in 2008 for a total of us$ 300 million. In 2009, payment processor Neteller settled for us$ 136 million.

However, the charges facing Scheinberg are more serious. The elusive billionaire, along with an otherwise unknown Isle of Man resident Paul Tate, are charged under violation of the UIGEA, operation of an illegal gambling business, and conspiracy to commit bank fraud, wire fraud and money laundering.
According to the unconfirmed reports on 2+2, PokerStars plans to bring Full Tilt Poker back online, and maintain separate sites.

A fee in the region of us$ 750 million is rumoured to have been agreed for the acquisition and settlement to the DoJ, although we await confirmation of the finer details.