Bid for Parent of World Poker Tour May Fold

Gaming entertainment company WPT Enterprises Inc. said Monday that it was willing to let a $700-million takeover offer expire today if it was still unable to get key information from the bidding group led by U.S. poker champion Doyle Brunson.

“At this point, without any further information, we would let it expire,” WPT Chief Executive Steven Lipscomb said. “When the offer arrived last Thursday we were not looking to sell the World Poker Tour and we are more than happy to just get back to business.”

WPT’s difficulty in obtaining details from the group cast doubt on the offer’s credibility and sent the company’s shares tumbling as much as 15% before recovering somewhat.

The Los Angeles-based company owns the World Poker Tour, the popular television series broadcast on the Travel Channel cable network, and an online gambling website.

On Friday, WPT shares soared 50% to nearly $30 after the company said it had received the $700-million unsolicited bid. The offer represented nearly a 100% premium to Thursday’s closing price of $17.75 a share, when the company was valued at about $357 million.

But since the offer, WPT said it had been unsuccessful in getting more information from its bidders about the deal and its structure. WPT said it contacted Brunson after the market closed Monday and he “suggested that [the company] should not expect any further contact regarding the offer.”

The offer came from the Las Vegas-based law firm Goodman & Chesnoff, which claimed to represent the group, WPT said.

But WPT was subsequently told Goodman & Chesnoff was no longer involved in the matter, WPT said Monday. The law firm didn’t return a call seeking comment.

The company went public in August at $8 a share, raising $32 million. Its shares fell $3.30, or 12%, on Monday to $23.20.

Shares of Lakes Entertainment Inc., WPT’s co-founder and largest shareholder with a 62% stake, fell $2.01, or 11%, to $16.08.