Amaya Gaming Officially Completes Acquisition of Pokerstars and Full Tilt

On Friday, Amaya Gaming announced that its purchase of Oldford Group had been completed, thus officially transferring Rational Group, PokerStars and Full Tilt to the Canadian gambling supply firm.

“We are extremely pleased to have completed this acquisition,” said David Baazov, CEO of Amaya. “Through PokerStars, Full Tilt and its multiple live poker tours and events, Rational’s brands comprise the world’s largest poker business, generating diversified and recurring revenues across the globe from its extremely loyal customer base.”

The acquisition was made through a $4.9 billion all-cash transaction and also includes the European Poker Tour, PokerStars Caribbean Adventure, Latin American Poker Tour and the Asian Pacific Poker Tour events.

“Since launching PokerStars in 2001 we have grown the business each year thanks to constant innovation, unparalleled customer service, and the talent of our dedicated workforce,” said Rational founder Mark Scheinberg. “I’m confident that Amaya, together with Rational Group’s leadership, will continue to successfully grow the business into the future.”

The announcement came just days after Amaya Gaming shareholders approved the transaction, along with the creation of new financial instruments like convertible preferred shares and warrants to facilitate the acquisition. Earlier in the week, the company also received the green light from regulators who approved all regulatory obligations required for transferring PokerStars’ various licenses to Amaya.

The sale officially removes Mark and Isai Scheinberg’s interests in the company, whose continual involvement in the business remained a sticking point for regulators in the U.S. online gaming market. With the purchase completed, PokerStars could now be poised to open up shop in New Jersey, while it fights for favorable legislation in California.