Online Poker: Full Tilt Poker Nearing New Investment Deal

In breaking news today, it has been revealed that a French investment group has been seriously considering a purchase of Full Tilt Poker and has made the necessary steps to finance and complete this takeover.

Full Tilt Poker shut its doors to US poker players on April 15th 2011, otherwise known as “Black Friday” in the poker industry. In subsequent events, Full Tilt Poker had its gaming license suspended by the AGCC, Full Tilt’s regulatory comission, on 29th June 2011.

In the wake of Black Friday, online poker still continued to thrive as players simply moved to other safe online poker sites, the most notable being BetOnline Poker, which has seen a large increase in poker traffic.

Since the suspension of Full Tilt’s license on June 29th, Full Tilt Poker have been searching for a new investor to take over the company and also finance the repayment of up to $300 million worth of player funds. The mainstream media reported last week that Full Tilt was a “global Ponzi scheme”, which led many to believe that this was the final nail in the coffin for further investment hopes.

However, many people have correctly pointed out, including Full Tilt Poker themselves, that the company is categorically not a ‘Ponzi Scheme’ and that Full Tilt remains fully committed to repaying all player funds in full. The news that a investor is seriously interested in purchasing Full Tilt has re-kindled peoples hopes that their funds will be safely returned.

The Takeover – One Major Reservation

However, one major reservation could hold back a potential deal. Jeff Ifrah, the official lawyer of Full Tilt Poker, made a statement to PokerStrategy.com a number of hours ago with the following information:

“The investors are totally committed to doing this- we’ve met with them and seen the funds. Their primary concern right now is the AGCC’s decision on Full Tilt’s license. The investor’s position is that if Alderney revokes the license, they won’t go through with the deal because it makes things too difficult.”

It is obviously in the interest of both parties that a deal is finalized, so we can be confident that the AGCC will be doing its best to come to a suitable arrangement. Jeff Ifrah also noted that the French Investment group has hired a well respected lawyer to conduct talks with the United States DOJ:

“They called and volunteered to discuss their commitment directly with the commissioners. Without hesitation, they are prepared to review the terms of their offer. Additionally, they’ve hired a prominent and respected lawyer in the gaming industry and are setting up a meeting with the DOJ to try and work out the issues Full Tilt has in the U.S.”

These talks will likely be the deciding factor in whether a deal goes ahead, so all we can do is wait, and hope. We will be reporting on any updates on the situation as and when we hear about it.

I’m sure a number of you are repeating this phrase just as we are: “just one time, one time!”

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