British casino company Aspinalls is joining the dot-com craze through a reverse takeover bid to create Aspinalls Online.
Gaming Investments plc will acquire all shares of Gaming Ventures International, which operates several online casinos and owns the name Aspinalls.com. GVI is privately-owned by Damien Aspinall, while Gaming Investments is an AIM-listed shell.
In addition, Gaming Investments will raise £5 million through a new shares issuance to help fund the takeover and provide working capital. The deal is valued at £45 million (US$64.1 million).
"Aspinalls has a strong brand name in casino gaming and a reputation for
trust, integrity and reliability that can be replicated in the online environment," commented Russell Foreman, CEO for the new company. "Our management team is experienced and proven in online gaming and we are confident about the future success of Aspinalls.com."
After the deal's completion, the new company will launch a gaming portal offering casino games, sports and financial betting and a VIP club for high rollers.
In April, GVI acquired the C3i group of companies, operator of the e-casinos Ccasino.com and Astracasino.com, both of which will be re-branded to reflect the Aspinalls brand. The purchase of C3i was brokered by the River City Group.
The announcement containing complete details of the reverse takeover and
the company's financials can be accessed here.