A Bargain between Rational Group and Amaya Gaming

January 13, 2015

The acquisition of the Rational Group by Amaya Gaming is considered the greatest success of 2014 by Forbes.

In 2014 Amaya Gaming Group CEO David Baazov brought off a clever stroke and bought a private poker provider Rational Group which is the owner of Full Tilt and PokerStars. After this success he was called a new ‘king of online gambling’ by Forbes in December.

The information as to the operations of Rational Group and how Amaya Group CEO prepared for the acquisition before the deal are written by Forbes Staff Editor Nathan Vardi. He also tells about the negotiations with Blackstone CEO who would invest $1 billion in the acquisition deal, its biggest ever investment commitment.

The deal was made in August and Amaya Gaming bought the Rational Group for $4.9 billion, a shocking sum in the online gaming industry. Baazov was at the head of the purchase selling about $1.7 billion of Amaya Gaming stock at $18.

The acquisition of the leader of online poker the Rational Group for $4.9 billion was announced the most incredible bargain of the year 2014 by magazine Forbes. Baazov’s company could boast only about $150 million of income and $7 cost of a share at the start of 2014, while the Rational Group had $1.1 billion income. Amaya Gaming considered this deal as a superficial hope.

Due to absolute determination, fortune and intelligence David Baazov could get enough money for acquiring the poker (check our demo video poker) operator and even persuaded PokerStars owners the Scheinberg Family to sell their strong enterprise to such unknown company as Amaya Gaming Group.

Amaya Gaming Group is now among the leaders of gambling industry thanks to the deal with the Rational Group. The share value is now $28.50 (in November $38.78) in comparison with $7. David Baazov as a good leader received 12% stake in Amaya Group which corresponds to $800 million.

The igaming market is expecting the further development of Amaya Gaming, as the company promised to launch casino services and sports betting in the nearest future.