Update: The acquisition now seems confirmed via an affiliate-merger thread and comments over at PokerAffiliateListings.com — hh.
Lock Poker to Acquire Cake Poker Network???
A couple of down-on-their-luck poker entities might be combining forces in a last-ditch effort for survival, as several sources report Lock Poker acquiring the Cake Poker Network. Lock, plowing along through an unhappy existence at Australia-based Merge, seems poised to make another try elsewhere, and the cash-strapped Cake Network just might be that fit.
First news of the potential acquisition came via the dubious Gambling 9111, so let’s keep this one just shy of the “confirmed” column for now. One of the earliest reactions — and that surprisingly muted — comes from CalvinAyre.com. Ayre has a longstanding hatred of Lock Poker and its executive, including Lock’s CEO Jennifer Larson, so the mild tone of this reaction to the probable story is interpreted here that the deal is likely for real.
Both Lock and Cake remain embroiled in controversies that continue to simmer, in a handful of corporate missteps too numerous to mention. Nonetheless, a Lock/Cake marriage would be a natural evolution in the online-poker business, which has seen the corporate ranks thin a bit over recent months. With global dynamics and an increasing complex and competitive marketplace becoming the norm, the strong are getting stronger and the weak are searching for ways to transition and evolve… failing that, they keep on falling by the wayside.
According to the G911 piece, the Lock Poker pros would remain with the site independent of this corporate deal, which includes Annette “Annette15″ Obrestad, who inked a new pact with Lock just a few weeks ago. Cake and its primary skin, according to G911, would also remain intact as semi-autonomous sites.
