U.S. Probes Takeover Offer for Poker Firm

U.S. securities regulators said Friday that they were formally investigating U.S. poker champion Doyle Brunson’s unsolicited $700-million offer in July to buy WPT Enterprises Inc., a Los Angeles-based gaming entertainment firm.

News of the bid, which was nearly double the company’s market value at the time, sent WPT’s stock soaring more than 50% in one day to an intraday high of $29.50.

The price then rapidly fell after the company said it wasn’t able to reach Brunson or his attorneys for further information on the bid, according to the Securities and Exchange Commission. The offer later expired.

Shares of WPT, which owns the World Poker Tour television show, closed at $6.23 on Friday, unchanged for the session.

The SEC also said Friday that it filed an action in federal district court in Fort Worth to enforce subpoenas issued to attorneys David Chesnoff and Chaka Henry, whose Las Vegas firm Goodman & Chesnoff represented Brunson in his offer.

Soon after delivering the offer, the firm withdrew from the matter.

Chesnoff would not comment, and a call to Henry was not returned.

The SEC said it was investigating whether Brunson’s offer and its publication violated anti-fraud laws.

“We’re confident that after the investigation, it will be seen that the offer was a sincere offer and that there were no laws violated,” Brunson’s attorney Alan Isaacman said.

“We have no comment except that we plan to cooperate with any ongoing investigation,” said Todd Steele, chief financial officer of WPT.