Based on a recent interview with Reuters on November 14, the parent company of PokerStars is going to raise billions of dollars so that it can fund an acquisition buying spree.
Rafi Ashkenazi, CEO of The Stars Group Inc., the parent company of PokerStars, is currently looking for ways on how to expand the company (The Stars Group is formerly called Amaya). Ashkenazi actually took over the company right after David Baazov got slammed with criminal charges of insider trading, and he claims that The Stars Group could potentially raise up to $2.5 billion to fund acquisitions if needed.
According to Reuters, "Stars Group has about $255 million of cash and reduced its debt by $515 million in the last one year, giving it enough leverage to turn acquisitive. Talks are already underway, but Ashkenazi did not name the companies involved."
Even though Ashkenazi did not say exactly which companies were involved, The Stars Group attempted to acquire UK bookmakers William Hill a year ago, but was unsuccessful.
The Stars Group expects poker to be its biggest revenue generator for the next five years.
It looks likely, given PokerStars' success on the online poker industry, that they shall be looking to acquire companies that mainly focus more on sports betting and online casino games. Since PokerStars is aiming to become much more like a full-fledged online gambling company, therefore it makes sense that a major acquisition will definitely speed up this transition.
Source:
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-starsgroup-offering-debt/pokerstars-owner-could-raise-up-to-2-50-billion-for-ma-ceo-idUSKBN1DD2SK