PokerStars In Full Tilt Purchase Rumours

Following news that the US Department of Justice (DoJ) and Groupe Bernard Tapie (GBT) have now terminated negotiations regarding Full Tilt Poker, rumours have started circulating that PokerStars has now stepped into the frame as a potential buyer.
One of the factors which ended the deal was GBT’s concern that foreign courts may still hold them responsible for Full Tilt’s other debts outside of players’ accounts. Another was the DoJ’s ‘sudden’ insistence that all Full Tilt players be repaid within 90 days of a deal being struck, apparently contrary to what had already been discussed. This lead GBT to speculate that the DoJ had already lined up an alternate buyer, with GBT later commenting:
“..[W]e can only assume that PokerStars determined that it was willing to accept these legal and financial risks in order to resolve its own legal situation with DOJ.”
Also adding to the speculation that PokerStars was considering a deal to purchase Full Tilt, thus ending the two poker rooms’ legal battle with the DoJ, is ChiliPoker CEO Alex Dreyfus, who today tweeted:
“Pokerstars buys Full Tilt for a consideration of $750m, including settlement with DoJ and full balances of players (330m). I’m impressed.”
So far nothing has been substantiated, but addressing the rumours PokerStars’ Head of Corporate Communications Eric Hollreiser felt compelled to post the following statement on the site’s blog:
“We’ve had a lot of enquiries and there’s lots of speculation on the forums, so I wanted to address the PokerStars chatter. As you know, PokerStars is in settlement discussions with the U.S. Department of Justice. As such settlement discussions are always confidential, we are unable to comment on rumors. As soon as we have information to share publicly, we will do so.”
While there seems to be some compelling elements to the rumour, Full Tilt Poker customers have been here before and will be expecting more concrete information before raising their hopes. We will bring you more updates to the developing story as they unfold.