Laurent Tapie Says Full Tilt Sale Imminent

According to an interview with Laurent Tapie conducted by iGaming France, the purchase of Full Tilt Poker by Groupe Bernard Tapie could be completed by the end of February.

Laurent Tapie is the Managing Director of GBT, which has been working for months to secure a purchase of Full Tilt. According to Tapie, GBT has in fact reached an agreement with the United States Department of Justice to purchase the online poker site. According to reports, this sale would be for a purchase price of $80 million, and would allow the site to once again be licensed with the Alderney Gambling Control Commission.

According to reports, Tapie has said that the deal will go through barring “last minute surprises.” While it was recently revealed that several poker professionals owe millions to the site, it seems unlikely that this allow would stop the deal from being completed at this point. While the process of due diligence is still underway, it appears as though the deal is very likely to be completed by the end of the month.

While Full Tilt Poker has faced numerous legal issues that threatened a potential settlement, these issues seem to be generally falling in the site’s favor. Earlier this week, for instance, a U.S. District Judge dismissed most of a class-action suit against the site and its executives.

While the full details of any potential agreements between FTP, GBT and the US government are unknown, some points do seem to be fairly well established. FTP would forfeit their assets to the United States, which would then sell them to GBT for the $80 million price that has been widely quoted. GBT would then take responsibility for all accounts, with the exception of accounts in the United States. American players would most likely have to apply for restitution from a fund derived from the sale of Full Tilt’s assets.