Gaming entertainment company
WPT Enterprises Inc. said Monday that it was willing to let a $700-million
takeover offer expire today if it was still unable to get key information
from the bidding group led by U.S. Texas Holdem poker champion Doyle
Brunson.
"At this point, without any further information, we would let it expire,"
WPT Chief Executive Steven Lipscomb said. "When the offer arrived last
Thursday we were not looking to sell the World Poker Tour and we are more
than happy to just get back to business."
WPT's difficulty in
obtaining details from the group cast doubt on the offer's credibility and
sent the company's shares tumbling as much as 15% before recovering
somewhat.
The Los Angeles-based company owns the World Poker Tour, the popular
Texas Holdem
television series
broadcast on the Travel Channel cable network, and an online gambling
website.
On Friday, WPT shares soared 50% to nearly $30 after the company said it
had received the $700-million unsolicited bid. The offer represented
nearly a 100% premium to Thursday's closing price of $17.75 a share, when
the company was valued at about $357 million.
But since the offer, WPT said it had been unsuccessful in getting more
information from its bidders about the deal and its structure. WPT said it
contacted Brunson after the market closed Monday and he "suggested that
[the company] should not expect any further contact regarding the offer."
The offer came from the Las Vegas-based law firm Goodman & Chesnoff, which
claimed to represent the group, WPT said.
But WPT was subsequently told Goodman & Chesnoff was no longer involved in
the matter, WPT said Monday. The law firm didn't return a call seeking
comment.
The company went public in August at $8 a share, raising $32 million. Its
shares fell $3.30, or 12%, on Monday to $23.20.
Shares of Lakes Entertainment Inc., WPT's co-founder and largest
shareholder with a 62% stake, fell $2.01, or 11%, to $16.08.
