One of the Isle of Man's biggest employers says its global headquarters will remain here, despite a 4.9 billion dollar buyout.

The sale of the Rational Group, whose core business is Pokerstars, to Amaya has been agreed and will create the world's largest online gaming company. Pokerstars was created in 2001 and moved its headquarters to the Isle of Man in 2006.

Pokerstars has written an open letter to Chief Minister Allan Bell to reassure the Manx Government that it intends to remain here. It now employs 216 people locally and says it intends to grow staff by another 10 per cent by year-end.

Head of corporate communications, Eric Hollreiser said: 'PokerStars is committed to the Isle of Man and this acquisition does not change that. There will be no impact to our staff here and PokerStars’ global headquarters will remain in the Isle of Man for the foreseeable future.

'We expect the acquisition will accelerate our growth, with new products and expansion into new territories, particularly in the U.S. These initiatives are designed to take us to even greater heights, which will likely lead to growth and job opportunities in the Isle of Man.

'We also remain committed to the wider Isle of Man community and our core values. We will continue to give to local charities, support local sporting talent and be a responsible corporate citizen in engaging in community issues.'

The letter to the Chief Minister stresses it will be 'business as usual' with no planned redundancies as 'the clear intention of the acquisition is to take Pokerstars on to even greater heights.' The letter states: 'Pokerstars chose the Isle of Man for its headquarters because we believe it represents the gold standard in e-gaming regulation.'

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