All eyes in the industry have been on the anticipated merger between 888 Holdings and the bwin.party Group. However, it is now being reported that the deal has been put on hold. The delay comes from a finance point of view as 888’s lenders seek clarification on the finer points of the merger before committing to going ahead with the deal. The merger, reported to be worth approximately £898.3million, was announced in July despite bidding rival GVC Holdings having earlier put in a higher offer. 
The dual currency $650 million leverage loan had already been put together by Barclays Bank and JP Morgan and agreed by investors. It has now been put on hold until bwin.party confirms a definite interest in 888 Holdings. This comes after GVC placed an increased bid earlier in the month. In a statement released to Pokernews, a representative for Barclays said: “The last two offers from GVC and the way the company decided to drop Amaya Gaming to advance in the negotiations have been a real game changer in the acquisition process. Today, the situation is no longer as clear as it was on July 17.” The spokesperson continued: “If the situation stays as unclear as it is today, we find very hard to ask investors to commit to the deal. In order to proceed, we need more clarity.” Putting the deal on hold means that 888 will not have to pay ticking fees on the loan until the merger is confirmed. Under the terms of the contract, the gaming company would have been liable to pay back 50% of the loan’s interest margin with 15 and 45 days. 888 Holdings is confident that the loan and acquisition will go ahead as planned once terms are agreed with bwin.party. “As announced on July 17, the financing of 888’s recommended offer for bwin.party digital entertainment is secured by firm commitments from Barclays Bank and JP Morgan,” read a statement released by the company.
