Following the almost unanimous approval of the merger at the general meetings of both bwin and PartyGaming on January 28, the proposed merger was formally entered into the companies' register by the Vienna Commercial Court today.
Subject to the formal approval from the Supreme Court in Gibraltar, the merger is expected to complete on March 31, 2011.
bwin shares will cease trading on the Vienna Stock Exchange at close of business on March 25. For administrative reasons, trading in bwin shares on the Vienna Stock Exchange must be suspended for three days prior to completion and also on the day of completion itself. On April 1, existing bwin shareholders will receive 12.23 bwin.party depositary interests for each bwin share free of charge. These depository interests can then be traded on the London Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol BPTY.L.
Following the approval of the merger in Germany by the Federal Cartel Office and in Austria by the Federal Competition Authority, bwin has now also received anti-trust approval from the relevant authorities in Romania.
The company’s dividend policy will be determined by the new board of bwin.party digital entertainment over the next few months.
