Did failed acquisition talks drag bwin.party shares down?

Bwin.Party  shareholders received an unpleasant surprise Friday as the share price plunged 25 percent on the London Exchange following unconfirmed reports that negotiations on a possible acquisition of the FTSE 250 gambling group with an unnamed suitor had failed.

The dramatic drop saw bwin.party share prices dive to almost GBP 78, although there was some recovery later and the price at close of business was GBP 83.55.

Rumours of an acquisition bid on Bwin.Party, which has been struggling in recent times, have been circulating since late last year, with little concrete and confirmed information surfacing.

Faced with the serious decline in its share price, a Bwin spokesman effectively denied that any negotiations had failed, instead pointing out that stock exchange regulations required the company to issue an announcement if such an event occurred, and thus far no such statement had been made.

Nevertheless, the rumours continued to persist, backed by speculative reports in several publications that acquisition talks had ground to a halt, triggering a sell-off and the consequent drop in share price.

Mystery continues to surround the identity of the would-be suitor with whom Bwin.Party was reportedly talking; most of the speculation pointed to the disparately focused Amaya Gaming and Playtech groups, and even William Hill plc, although the latter is presumably focused at present on its admitted negotiations with 888 Holdings (see previous reports).

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