Online poker and casino operator PartyGaming has pulled ahead in the race to buy sports betting firm Victor Chandler Group, according to British newspaper the Observer.
The paper reported on Sunday that PartyGaming is now one of three bidders for the Gibraltar-based business, worth about £300 million.
PartyGaming has been eager to broaden its business away from poker and did so this month when it entered the sports betting market with its £69 million acquisition of Bulgarian bookmaker Gamebookers.
Both companies have refused to comment on a possible acquisition, but the paper reports that sources have confirmed PartyGaming's interest and that negotiations would likely begin this September after Victor Chandler, the target company's CEO, returns from his vacation in the Greek islands.
Chandler has hired the corporate finance firm Zeus Capital to evaluate unsolicited approaches and advise on how to proceed.
The two other companies that have entered bids for Chandler have not been identified.