Groupe Bernard Tapie (GBT) to acquire Full Tilt Poker (FTP) for $80 million (USD)...

On Thursday, Nov. 17, 2011, a signed deal had been reached to faciliatet for Groupe Bernard Tapie (GBT) to acquire Full Tilt Poker (FTP) for $80 million (USD). According to Yahoo the United States Department of Justice managed the deal, ensuring that FTP forfeit its assets to the U.S. government, which then now have sold the assets to the French investment firm.

The deal, which presumably needs to be approved by a two-thirds vote by FTP shareholders, also states that Groupe Bernard Tapie (GBT) will be responsible for paying back players outside the U.S., and the Department of Justice will pay back players in the U.S., who are owed approximately $150 million. Specifics are not known, but U.S. players will have to apply for compensation through the DOJ.

Finally, the DOJ has agreed to dismiss the civil forfeiture proceedings against FTP, which removes liability for the company's shareholders; however, it will not impact the individual proceedings against those individuals named in the indictments including Howard Lederer, Chris Ferguson and Ray Bitar.