Intertain calms market speculation on another acquisition

The Intertain online gambling group in Toronto, Canada has hit the acquisition headlines more than most in recent years, so it is not surprising that there is a tendency to speculatively link the company to any industry rumour regarding major deals of this nature.

In the past two years the rapidly expanding group has picked up the Intercasino and Interpoker brands from Amaya Gaming for $70 million; the UK online bingo interests in Mandalay Media in a deal worth $82.4 million, and in October this year it made an acquisition bid for the Vera&John casino operations in Dumarca Holdings for a putative $89.1 million (see previous reports).

Deals like these trigger the sort of UK market speculation which last week pushed the company’s value up on whispers that another big acquisition deal is imminent.

So persistent did the rumours (and trading activity) become, that Intertain felt compelled to issue a press release late Friday advising that “….strategic acquisitions have been and are one component of the company’s growth strategy and, as such, Intertain regularly evaluates potential acquisition opportunities.

“From time to time, this process leads to discussions with potential acquisition targets.”

However, the company warned: “There can be no assurance that any such discussions will ultimately lead to a transaction.

“As a general policy, Intertain does not publicly comment on potential acquisitions unless and until a binding legal agreement has been signed or material terms of the transaction have been settled and there are no material conditions to closing, such as financing.

“The company intends to make no further comment or release regarding current market rumours unless and until such comment is warranted.”