Bernard Tapie to Buy Full Tilt Poker

It seems that losing their license has not ruined the investor Groupe Bernard Tapie from agreeing to buy the struggling Full Tilt Poker.  The French investor as also agreed to pay back the over $300 million owed to players there. There are conditions however and one is that the company resolves its problem with the DOJ.

Bernard Tapie is a former government minister, sports tycoon and actor and the Groupe is an investment firm that once owned Adidas in the 90’s. According to a press release on PokerStrategy.com, attributed to Laurent Tapie, there is an agreement and the biggest hurdle it faces:

This agreement, which includes the repayment of Full Tilt Poker’s world-wide players in full, is subject to several conditions; the first of which is a favorable resolution with the United States Department of Justice. Discussions with the United States Department of Justice will begin immediately.

There is little in the way of official announcements but according to those close to the situation, negotiations with the U.S. Department of Justice starting this upcoming week.  Another part of the deal that is supposed to be included is that the current owners will get no money from the sale of the online poker company but may end up owners small stakes in the company depending on the terms agreed to by the U.S. justice department.

According to Full Tilt attorney Barry Bo “I think that it’s obviously a positive development and gives us some reason to be optimistic that the players will be able to be paid back.”