Bwin.Party is considered to be one of the most popular online gaming portals in the world and has built a strong customer base across the globe. The majority of the company is owned by two family shareholders who decided to sell the company towards the end of 2014.

There have been a number of companies who have sent in proposals to buy Bwin.party, the most prominent being arch rival GVC Holdings but Bwin.party is yet to make a final decision. 888 Holdings recently decided to join the bidding process and sent in a proposal to buy outright ownership of Bwin.party by offering the company a combination of shares and stocks.

If 888 Holdings manages to reach an agreement with Bwin.party and complete the sale, then 888 Holdings will become one of the biggest online gambling companies in the world and strengthen its portfolio in sports betting. An acquisition will not only increase 888 Holding’s global presence but would immediately strengthen its gaming portfolio, player database and cause the company’s net worth to be well over £1 billion.

Industry analysts are keeping a close eye on Canadian based Amaya Gaming who acquired PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker in 2014 and turned into the biggest online poker company in the world. If Amaya Gaming decides to send in a proposal and succeeds in buying up Bwin.party, then it could become an even bigger gambling entity and have a monopoly on most online poker markets. In a statement, Gavin Kelleher, an analyst at Goodbody Stockbrokers in Dublin said “All eyes will be on other potential bidders such as Amaya to see whether they will enter the race for Bwin.party”.

Some reports have placed Amaya in a concerted bid with GVC to fend off the 888 offer. Were Amaya to succeed, they would be become the undisputed online heavyweight with active assets in nearly every metric and a moniker of “biggest online gambling company in the world.”

William Hill, another popular online gaming company had sent in a bid back in November 2014 for £720m and Bwin.party initially considered going ahead with the sale before one of the family members decided the bid was too low and stopped the sale. Bwin.party has been looking at proposals for the last six months and do not appear to be in a hurry to make a quick sale.

The company released a statement which said that the board would be carefully studying every proposal that was sent in and will later discuss each proposal and finalize the one they find the most interesting. 888 Holdings decided to finally make a bid for Bwin.party as  shareholders with more than 50% of 888 Holdings believe the acquisition would be a strategic one and provide long term benefits for 888 Holdings.