In a Telegraph article by Ben Harrington from Saturday evening, Gaming Media Group, which owns the television outlet The Poker Channel and online poker site Poker Heaven, is looking into the possibility of selling both of the highly respected poker outlets. To further advance the sale of these outlets, Gaming Media Group has hired Cavendish Corporate Finance LLP to solicit bids and map out a strategy for the business plan of The Poker Channel and Poker Heaven. Cavendish Corporate Finance LLP is one of the top business advisors in England and has previously consulted in the gaming arena on the sale of Cecure Gaming to PokerStars.
Gaming Media Group, founded by Crispin Nieboer and Shaun Barron along with a group of venture capitalists in 2005, is rumored to be looking at a healthy price tag for both operations. The Telegraph reports that the price for both business units is £25 million, which a potential buyer could be able to recoup rather quickly with continued improvement and building of both businesses. One of the top consultants at Cavendish Corporate Finance LLP, Paul Herman, would not state who was bidding, but indicated that there was interest from Asia and other foreign companies. The Telegraph states that the competition is wide open, with such online gaming outlets such as Full Tilt Poker, 888 Holdings, and Party Gaming in the mix along with two long-running bookmaking operations in the U.K., Ladbrokes and Paddy Power.
Poker Heaven is a part of the 48-site IPN/Boss Media Poker Network that includes Paradise Poker and Yahoo! Poker in the United Kingdom. The network is the seventh largest worldwide, according to PokerScout.com. Poker Heaven is looking to earn somewhere in the neighborhood of £1.5 million this year from revenues of £11.3 million, according to the Telegraph story. Poker Heaven has a television outlet, PokerHeavenTV.com, which uses much of the material that is generated for The Poker Channel.
The Poker Channel may be the more desirable part of the package. The Poker Channel is a 24/7 poker television outlet that is broadcast across Europe, reaching over 17 million viewers in 20 different countries. The Poker Channel has aired some of the top poker tournaments in Europe, including the Irish Open, Grosvenor U.K. Poker Tour, and Great British Poker Tour, and also has contractual rights to broadcast the World Series of Poker and World Poker Tour. The Poker Channel also captivates its viewers with cash game play from the Million Dollar Cash Game and the PokerHeaven.com European Cash Game.
Another segment of The Poker Channel’s success has been in its own online site. In September 2008, Gaming Media Group re-launched its online arm, PokerChannelEurope.com, which provides tutorial videos and segments of tournaments and cash games seen on The Poker Channel. PokerChannelEurope.com is one of the top 30,000 sites in such countries as Malta, Israel and the United Kingdom, according to Alexa.com.
