Youbet.com drops bid for American Wagering Shares

Youbet.com, the Woodland Hills-based online wagering company, has announced that it has withdrawn its proposal to acquire all of the issued and outstanding shares of American Wagering, Inc. The bid had been for $12 million. Youbet’s proposal had been contained in a competing reorganization plan and accompanying disclosure statement filed with the United States bankruptcy court in Reno, Nevada. The court approved Youbet’s settlement agreement with American Wagering and Leroy’s Horse and Sports Place (Debtors) to which Debtors paid Youbet 75,000 in consideration for Youbet’s withdrawal of its competing plan and a release of certain related claims against Debtor, its officers and directors. As a result of the withdrawal of the competing reorganization plan, Youbet will record a one-time charge, net of the settlement payment, of approximately $275,000 pre-tax in its 2004 fourth-quarter period ended December 31, for expenses incurred in connection with its efforts to acquire AWI. Youbet officials withdrew the bid due to AWI shareholder dissatisfaction with the proposal.