An investment group led by the Canadian firm Clairvest Group, Inc. is looking to buy Ace2Three.com, an Indian rummy site. It’s a deal that could bring big profits to Clairvest, and less heat from regulators for the site’s current owners.
Details of the deal are still emerging, but here’s what we know so far. According to Glaws.in, an Indian news site, Clairvest and its associates are paying somewhere between $90-$100 million to acquire what is generally known as India’s top rummy site. That investment amounts to about 85 percent of the company’s total worth.
Deepak Gullapalli, the company’s founder and current CEO is expected to retain a 15 percent share of the company.
Clairvest is not the first firm to express interest in acquiring the Indian rummy site. Late last year, a group of Indian investors were looking to purchase the site but were put off by its $90-$100 million price tag.
While Ace2Three.com is one of India’s best known rummy sites, it’s an acquisition that also comes with a little baggage. For starters, there’s talk that the site may not be the top rummy site for long. Over the last 12 months, competitors such as Junglee Rummy have been nipping at Ace2Three’s market share and revenue.
Ace2Three has also been the subject of an investigation by the police in its home town of Hyderabad. Though most sources agree that the investigations verge on harassment and don’t have much in the way of merit, they’re still a nuisance that the company, and its owners, must deal with.
Whatever issues come up, it’s likely that Clairvest has the brain power to deal with them. As of this writing, approximately 40 percent of the company’s assets are in the form of gaming companies.