LONDON, Aug 28 (Reuters) - Bwin.Party, the onlinegambling firm at the centre of a bidding war between rivals 888 and GVC Holdings, posted a 2 percent rise infirst-half earnings on Friday.
Bwin, up for sale since last year, accepted a 900 millionpound ($1.39 billion) cash and stock offer from 888 in July buton Thursday asked bid rival GVC to table its best offer afterkey issues in its latest 1.03 billion pound proposal on Aug. 7were addressed.
Bwin said on Friday cost savings had helped lift adjustedcore earnings for the six months to June 30 to 47.3 millioneuros, slightly ahead of analyst forecasts of 45.4 millioneuros, adding it remained confident on its full-year outlook.
888, which like Bwin runs casino, poker, bingo andsportsbook offerings, also posted first-half results on Friday,which showed the adverse impact of a new UK online tax levy.
It said adjusted core earnings for the six months to June 30fell 17 percent on a year ago to $40.9 million, hurt by taxcharges of $19.5 million in the period. The firm said currenttrading had been solid and reiterated its full-year outlook.
Shares in Bwin closed at 115.3 pence on Friday, up 43percent on a year ago. 888's shares closed at 161.50p, up 26percent on a year ago. ($1 = 0.6480 pounds) (Reporting by Neil Maidment; editing by Kate Holton)
