Lakes Entertainment, which owns 62 per cent of WPT Enterprises, the operator of the World Poker Tour television show, might sell all or part of its stake to raise the $20m financing it needs to keep operating.
WPT Enterprises went public at $8 a share in 2004. The stock, which reached a high of $29.50 in July amid speculation over a possible buyout by poker star Doyle Brunson, has slid steadily since then and set a 52-week low of $5.94 on Tuesday before rising to close with a 28 percent gain a day later.
Shares closed down 8.4 per cent to $6.96 on Friday.
In separate news, the company said to be teaming up with Chipleaders to create an online social network specifically for poker enthusiasts.
The network, which will be accessible from worldpokertour.com will allow users communicate and share informations with other poker players from around the world.
Elsewhere, Lehman Brothers upgraded its William Hill rating to \’overweight\’ from \’equal-weight\’ with an unchanged target price of 570 pence.
The US broker believes that recent poor trading conditions were due to cyclical factors, partly structural and partly bad luck.
Lenham also raised its target price for PartyGaming to 116 pence from 100 and reiterated its \’overweight\’ stance on the online poker firm. The broker said that although it remains cautious on the long-term outlook, a reassuring third quarter update and an astute management of skins arrangements makes it more upbeat in the short term.
The online casino operator Crystal Gaming, which was due to list yesterday, scrapped its planned £140m float. The companysaid it will now not happen until the new year — if at all.
“We’re looking at the strategic options available,” said a source close to the company.
Richard Carter, analyst at Numis Securities, said that if Empire Online comes up with the numbers that are presently forecast, its share price should be “back up to 150p in the next six to 12 months.
“It is a case of rolling their sleeves up,” he added. Empire closed on Friday at 68.5p.
Lorne Abony, co-founder and Chief Executive of FUN Technologies, said that the Liberty acquisition leaved FUN with $66m on the balance sheet, which will be used to make acquisitions in the skill and fantasy sports areas with a major takeover possibly set to be announced in February 2006.
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