And then there was one – Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment plc

Online gambling giants, PartyGaming PLC and bwin Interactive Entertainment AG shareholders held separate Extraordinary General Meetings today and have announced the approval of the anticipated merger.
All nine resolutions relating to the approval of the merger with bwin, including the change of name from PartyGaming Plc to bwin.party digital entertainment plc, were approved by PartyGaming Shareholders.  This followed the approval by bwin Shareholders at a bwin Shareholder meeting held earlier today of all five resolutions relating to the merger and associated matters.
The approvals in both extraordinary general meetings were a condition for carrying out the proposed merger and the legal measures specified by the merger plan can now be implemented during the coming weeks.
The deal is worth $3.3 billion based on share prices when the transaction was unveiled in July 2010 and the two companies have styled the all-share deal a merger of equals although bwin shareholders will end up owning 51.6 percent of the company while investors in PartyGaming will hold the remaining 48.4 percent reports Reuters.
The Company’s change of name to bwin.party digital entertainment plc will be registered when and if the Court order sanctioning the merger takes effect, which is anticipated to happen on 31 March 2011.
Commenting on the results of both EGMs today, Jim Ryan and Norbert Teufelberger, the proposed co-CEOs of the combined group said:
“Today’s shareholder meetings were a key milestone in the overall process, putting the transformational merger of our two companies well on the way to Completion.
“We are delighted that both sets of shareholders have overwhelmingly recognised the strategic, operational and financial benefits of creating the world’s largest listed online gaming company.”

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