Party Gaming and Bwin the two gaming companies that are to merge in the next few months have confirmed that following the plans the two companies will retain their current brands. The merger came as no surprise to the industry and while confirmation was only reported in July this year, more than a year ago there was much speculation about the deal.

The new company, which will be the world’s largest listed online gambling business, will operate under the name bwin.party Digital Entertainment plc. Current Bwin shareholders will hold a 51.6% in the new company, and Party Gaming shareholders will have a 48.4% stake. Both Bwin and Party Gaming will keep most of their company brands but will operate under the new parent company, which will be based in Gibraltar and listed on the London Stock Exchange (LSE). Bwin will continue to operate from Austria and Party Gaming will keep its headquarters in Gibraltar.

The deal is yet to be approved by the company’s shareholders and a 478 page document has been issued to shareholders with all the details. The two companies will have a joint annual general meeting on January 28th. If as expected it is approved Bwin shareholders will receive 12.23 Party Gaming shares for every Bwin share they own.

The document suggests the merger would create a company with unaudited net revenues of €696.2 million, unaudited clean EBITDA of €193.7 million, unaudited profit after tax of €99.4 million, and unaudited net assets of €1.27 billion after consolidation adjustments for the year 2009.

The new company will be looking to take advantage of new markets particularly the U.S. market as and when legislation allows it to. Bwin stopped accepting customer that resided in the U.S. in 2006 and Party Gaming followed the same path shortly after.

Norbert Teufelberger the Co-CEO at Bwin commented: “The online gaming industry is going through a phase of consolidation, making market players’ size and geographic diversification more crucial than ever,”

“Our products and target markets complement one another perfectly, and we can continue to expand our technology lead in all key product segments: sports betting, poker, casino, bingo, and games.”

Jim Ryan, Chief Executive Office of Party Gaming, will become the Co-Chief Executives of the merged company along with his counter-part, Teufelberger. Ryan added: “This is a transformational opportunity for both our companies to create the world’s largest listed online gaming business. With market-leading positions in poker, sports betting, casino, and games, the enlarged group will have a winning formula to exploit the growing online gaming market, supported by a strong balance sheet, significant cash flow generation, and a highly experienced management team.”