GVC, Bwin.party shareholders approve takeover, deal to be done by February

Shareholders in UK-listed online gambling operators GVC Holdings and Bwin.party digital entertainment have overwhelmingly approved GVC’s acquisition of Bwin.party.

Both companies held shareholder meetings on Tuesday to vote on the proposed takeover, and the result was about what you’d expect if the question on the ballot had been ‘would you like to have conjugal relations with Rihanna’.

Bwin.party said 99.9% of its shareholders voted in favor of the deal, while GVC’s shareholders were only slightly less enthusiastic at 99.1%. A separate Bwin.party court meeting also returned near rapturous levels of endorsement. Sadly, Rihanna has yet to agree to anything.

The votes clear the way for the takeover to be complete by Feb. 1, 2016, at which time GVC’s AIM-listed shares will be admitted to the official list of the London Stock Exchange. Whether this movin’-on-up to the big leagues will change GVC’s traditionally tight-lipped approach to information sharing remains to be seen.