UK-listed online gambling operator GVC Holdings has made a takeover bid for struggling rival Bwin.party Digital Entertainment.

In a statement released on Friday, GVC confirmed it had submitted a proposal to acquire Bwin.party’s “entire issued and to be issued share capital.” Given that Bwin.party’s market cap is more than twice the size of GVC’s, the deal would be treated as a reverse takeover and would require the approval of GVC shareholders.

Bwin.party released its own statement, saying it was “continuing its discussions with a number of third parties and has received revised proposals (including from GVC Holdings PLC) regarding a variety of possible business combinations.” While both parties stressed that there was no guarantee a deal would be made, the news sent Bwin.party’s shares up over 11% to 99.45p, its highest close since mid-February. Tellingly, GVC’s shares rose less than 1% to 461.93p.

In March, GVC CEO Kenneth Alexander publicly mused about acquiring “something like” Bwin.party as his company looked to make a transformative acquisition similar to its 2013 purchase of Sportingbet’s grey market operations.