Online poker operator PartyGaming, formerly known as iGlobalMedia, appointed Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein and Investec to advise on a possible flotation on the London Stock Exchange.
With online poker booming, bankers say investors are clamouring for a listed vehicle to invest in. IPO valuation is likely to be based on projected 2005 earnings of as much as $600 million, implying a valuation of perhaps $5 billion to $6 billion.
The handful of private investors who launched PartyPoker in 1997 would cash in huge profits. They include Ruth Parasol, a Californian lawyer who made her first fortune through pornographic websites, and Anurag Dikshit, a software specialist from India.
The advisers will also consider alternative strategic options of taking the company forward, including raising debt or seeking a merger partner.
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