WPT sale gets shareholder approval

Despite a last minute offer from Mandalay Media, the deal to sell the World Poker Tour's assets to a subsidiary of PartyGaming is going ahead.

At the beginning of August, Gamynia Limited agreed to pay $9,075,000 plus a percentage of future revenues for almost all of WPT Enterprises assets, including its television, sponsorship, distribution and licensing units.

The deal was put on hold pending stockholder approval and in the interim an offer was made from a subsidiary of PartyGaming, which also owns the online poker site PartyPoker.

The deal was similar to the Gamynia offer, except the subsidiary, Peerless Media Ltd., had agreed to pay $12.3 million for the company's assets and 5% of future gaming and other revenues.

Last week, the WPT held a shareholders' meeting to vote on the Peerless Media offer, but before it was concluded a third offer was tendered.

This third offer came from Mandalay Media, Inc., a global publisher and distributor of branded entertainment for 3G mobile networks.

According to a press release from WPT Enterprises, the offer was rejected by its board of directors, as was a modified offer seeking to acquire the company's assets for a whopping $36.5 million, consisting of $28.5 million in cash, $5 million in Mandalay Media stock and perpetual revenue participation rights, guaranteed to be at least $3 million.

Plus, shareholders have voted to accept the Peerless Media offer and it is now expected to be finalized in the early part of this month.

PokerListings is scheduled to meet with WPT and PartyGaming executives Nov. 6 to discuss the future of the tour and will have more on this story following that meeting.