PartyGaming Buys EmpirePoker.com

Thursday April 13, 2006

Party Gaming has purchased Empire Poker in a 250 million dollar deal and has reinstated the site as a skin of Party Poker.

In October of 2005 Party Gaming announced it was separating from affiliate partnerships of which Empire was the largest. Prior to this move the two sites had shared the same games and players, making them virtually the same online poker room. With the acquisition now finalized the two sites will again be one and the same. The merger also included Party Gaming gaining control of smaller affiliate sites Ace Club Casino and Starluck Casino.

Party Gaming has been one of the world's largest online gaming companies since 1997. Along with online poker they also offer online gaming for both Casino and Bingo players. Licensing and regulation is provided by the Government of Gibraltar and Party Gaming is certified by Gamcare in the United Kingdom. Shares of Party Gaming stock are traded on the London Exchange under the ticker symbol: PRTY. The company has an estimated total value of 8 billion dollars.

Empire Poker came online in 1999 with the sole purpose of being a Party Poker skin. Empire Poker quickly became the largest affiliate site in the online poker industry. Estimates on the company's value ranged as high as 1.4 billion dollars prior to the 2005 breakup with PartyGaming Plc.