Report: Groupe Bernard Tapie reaches deal with DOJ

Groupe Bernard Tapie has reached an agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice that will allow the French company's purchase of Full Tilt Poker to continue, according to SubjectPoker.com.

The deal is subject to approval by the shareholders of Full Tilt. Should the deal be approved, it could pave the way for the troubled online poker site to begin repaying its customers.

SubjectPoker.com confirmed through multiple sources that Full Tilt CEO Ray Bitar e-mailed shareholders about the agreement.

“I am pleased to announce that today the Department of Justice (DOJ) and Groupe Bernard Tapie (GBT) have reached an agreement in principle regarding the acquisition of the companies comprising Full Tilt Poker (FTP),” said Bitar in the e-mail. “My understanding is the deal provides that in exchange for an agreed upon payment by GBT, and a GBT commitment to assume responsibility for payment of ROW (rest of world) players, DOJ will reimburse U.S. players and settle the outstanding civil litigation with the companies comprising FTP.”

Full Tilt Poker announced in September that Groupe Bernard Tapie had agreed to purchase the online poker room and its assets. It said in a statement that the deal would include "the repayment of Full Tilt Poker’s world-wide players in full."