By JAMES PUGSLEY, 20th November, 2011
While the DOJ has released liability from most FTP shareholders, individual indictments to those such as Howard Lederer remain.
Late Thursday the 16th of November, multiple news sources confirmed that French investment firm Groupe Bernard Tapie has finalized the purchase of Full Tilt Poker’s assets through the U.S. Department of Justice. The agreement involves the repayment of players internationally, while U.S. based players will be repaid via the DOJ. Exact details of repayment are unclear, but Tapie has confirmed that they have the funds to carry out such a venture, with player funds worldwide totalling nearly $350 million. The arrangement was confirmed independently by CNN, The Wall Street Journal, and PokerNews, amongst others.
CNN commented that this arrangement essentially dissolved the U.S. government’s plans to pursue civil forfeiture proceedings, meaning that FTP’s assets would be released to Bernard Tapie provided that FTP shareholders agree to the $80 million dollar sale. Given the circumstances, it seems extremely likely that the mandatory two-thirds of shareholders would agree. The deal does not, however, disregard individual indictments taken out against key FTP shareholders Howard Lederer, Ray Bitar, Chris Ferguson and Ray Furst. On the matter of those individuals, Full Tilt attorney Jeff Ifrah commented that the deal “will have no impact on individual proceedings, but it removes the potential liability for shareholders, as it removes all pending proceeds against FTP.”
Moving forward, Groupe Bernard Tapie has also made it clear that they intend to re-open Full Tilt, and keep the brand. When interviewed by IGaming France regarding the matter, Tapie affirmed: “The brand is not in question, it’s a well-known brand and the technology is widely recognized as being possibly the best in the industry. The management of the company is being questioned and it will be changed [should the takeover be concluded]. I believe we have the tools necessary to once again make the site one of the leaders in the online poker sector.” When asked when such a re-opening may occur, Tapie stated that if everything ran smoothly, the site could be back in action as early as January.
Stay tuned to PokerNZ as we follow the progress of the deal and FTP’s re-emergence into the international online poker market.
