PokerStars.com IPO or For Sale By Owner

by mitchell posted Jan 5th 2006 at 22:00PM

http://digg.com/submit?phase=2&url=http://www.pokeraffiliateworld.com/news/pokerstarscom-ipo-or-for-sale-by-owner&title=PokerStars.com IPO or For Sale By Owner

It appears that 2006 will start out as another year in the online poker world where we can expect to see mass mergers and aquisitions. After the successful IPO of the worlds largest poker site PartyPoker.com, the second largest site PokerStars.com has announced it's intentions to either be bought or go public with an IPO.

The Scheinberg's, Israeili owners of PokerStars.com recently hired a a leading bank to advise them on if they should launch an IPO on the London Stock Exchange or if they would be better selling out at a price tag of over $2 Billion USD.

The Scheinberg family is rumoured to own over 75% of the company with the employees owning the other 25%. Damn who would have thought Lee Jones had that much stake!

The details are still sketchy, however if there is a PokerStars IPO it will not be until the second half of 2006. Possible candidates to aquire PokerStars would be 888 Holdings, William Hill, and my underdog bet would be Sportingbet LLC.

Nonetheless, if PokerStars does decide to sell out it will certainly be an attractive piece of internet property. The loyalty at PokerStars.com is among the best in the online poker industry. If PokerStars.com had an affiliate program that was the quality of PartyPoker's, there is no reason they couldn't be the largest poker site out there.

The interest is so high to aquire PokerStars that one RGP member and entrepenuer has started her own quasi corporation that would allow RGP members to own PokerStars outright. You can view her site at www.LetsBuyPokerStars.com. Very Clever marketing..........................

Check back here to Poker Affiliate World New Section often as we will be following this story very closely as it unfolds.