FTP, US Government, and Groupe Bernard Tapie Reach Agreement

French investment syndicate Groupe Bernard Tapie has reached an agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice and the owners of Full Tilt Poker that will allow GBT to take control of the site and its assets, said an attorney for the group.

The purchase will cost GBT $80 million, in exchange for which they will receive most of FTP’s assets. According to a report by the Wall Street Journal, these assets would likely include some of the bank accounts that are linked to FTP, it appears that the actual total cost to GBT will come in at around $40 million.

The purchase would actually be handled in something of a roundabout way. Full Tilt Poker’s current ownership group would have to reach a settlement under which they would forfeit their company to the United States government. Then, GBT would be allowed to purchase the assets of the company from the United States at the agreed upon price.

That would leave two outstanding issues for GBT to deal with before most players would consider the matter settled. First, GBT would try to restart operations in most of the world, excluding the United States. Given Full Tilt’s huge player base, this would be a high priority for the group; even if many players would immediately jump ship, a large number would be likely to stick around, especially with the site under new management.

The other issue concerns the repayment of American players. The deal does contain a mechanism for repaying American players; however, it does not necessarily guarantee payment to players.

The idea would be for the US government to handle repayments using the money raised through the sale of the assets to GBT. Since the amount owed to US players has been estimated at anywhere from $100 million to $150 million, it is uncertain whether the $80 million received by the government would actually cover all US player deposits. Details on a repayment plan were not available at the time of this writing.

Before the deal can become official, FTP’s shareholders will have to vote to agree to the forfeiture of assets to the US government. CEO Ray Bitar has come out in favor of the deal, which would suggest that acceptance is likely.