Barely a few weeks after the unexpected announcement of Amaya Gaming’s acquisition of PokerStars, the rumor mill is once again in full swing. But this time, industry insiders are whispering about a possible sale of bwin.party, the parent company of bwinand PartyPoker.

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On Thursday, Bloomberg reported that the Gibraltar-based company had hired Deutsche Bank AGto weigh its options for a possible breakup or outright sale of the company, according to two anonymous insiders.

bwin.party was quick to hit back, though, releasing a statementlater that day denying the rumors. “Since his appointment as Chairman last month, Philip Yea has been working with the executive management team on ways in which the Group can increase shareholder value; however, we can confirm that there are no plans to break up or sell the company,” it read.

While the response may seem definitive, OnlinePokerReport has stated that it has been able to confirm that a sale is being “seriously discussed” by bwin execs through its own sources.

Amaya Gaming released a similar statement, albeit much less firm, after rumors started swirling that it would snap up Rational Group, PokerStars‘ parent company. As it happened, the speculation turned out to be correct and the small Canadian gaming systems provider purchased the online poker behemoth in a $4.9 billion transaction.

The PokerStars sale is a significant blow to bwin.party, as the purchase could allow the well-known brand to reenter the regulated US online gambling market. At the moment, PartyPoker and its casino partner Borgata Pokerare leading the pack in the New Jersey poker market, claiming around 40% of the market.

That threat wasn’t lost on investors and bwin.party’s stock plunged around 11% at the thought of losing so much ground in the state. Furthermore, US i-gaming revenue has been lower than predicted, diminishing some shareholders’ hopes that the industry would be a magic bullet to revive the company’s value.

For bwin investors, the Amaya acquisition is the latest piece of bad news in a string of defeats that have sent shares tumbling. Activist investor Jason Ader, however, believes he can reverse the downward trend and recently bought a controlling stake in the company. Ader has already aggressively pushed to implement major changes at bwin and lobbied to add four executives of his choosing to the Board instead of the one that he was allowed.

In the end, the investor came to a truce with shareholders, giving Ader Investment Management President Daniel Silvers a seat while excluding his three other picks.

On a now defunct website called savebwinparty, Ader laid out his proposal for reinvigorating the company and suggested refocusing on “growing its core real money wagering business.” He also campaigned to end what he viewed as extravagant bonus packages that CEO Norbert Teufelberger (pictured) and other executives have received.

On Tuesday, bwin sealed a deal with gaming systems provider IGTthat would allow it to offer games other than those created in-house. Golan Shaked, bwin.party’s director of games, said that with the agreement, the company would now be able to offer its players “instantly recognizable, market-attuned content.”

Even so, the announcement didn’t have a positive effect for investors, with share price sliding again before recovering slightly. The past two months have been less-than-ideal for bwin in terms of share value, dropping from a high of 128 pence in early May to 95 pence as of Friday.

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