Bwin

Bwin Shares Jump on Report PartyGaming May Buy Part of Company

By Philipp Grontzki and Igor Muller

Nov. 6 (Bloomberg) -- Shares of Bwin Interactive Entertainment AG, an Austrian Internet bookmaker, jumped on a report that PartyGaming Plc may bid for part of Bwin's business.

Shares of Vienna-based Bwin climbed as much as 2.27 euros, or 14 percent, to 18.22 euros in the Austrian capital and were trading at 18.20 euros as of 9:40 a.m. local time.

PartyGaming, a U.K. online poker company, may bid for part of Bwin.com, the Times reported on Nov. 5, without saying where it obtained the information. Bwin is one of a number of companies PartyGaming is considering, the newspaper said.

"The deal makes perfect sense,'' said Andrew Lee, an online gaming analyst at Dresdner Kleinwort in London. "Combining online poker with sports betting creates opportunities for synergies and cost savings.''

Bwin's stock has dropped 79 percent this year, mirroring declines by Web gambling stocks across Europe after the U.S. last month passed laws to shut down the industry.

Karin Klein, a spokeswoman for Bwin, wasn't immediately available for comment. PartyGaming spokesman Edward Bridges declined to comment.

source: bloomberg.com