The Los Angeles operator of the World Poker Tour announced Tuesday that it is selling essentially all of its assets to private equity group Gamynia Ltd., which will move the company into online gaming.

WPT Enterprises Inc. said it will receive $9 million from the sale of both its World Poker Tour and its Professional Poker Tour and will receive a portion of the future earnings from those events. It also is selling its television library.

The announcement said Gamynia has secured the services of online gaming marketing company Hardway Investments Ltd. which will “seek to exploit and develop the WPT brands with the goal of maximizing future revenue opportunities.”

WPT plans to use the $9 million “to develop or acquire a non-poker related business,” the announcement stated. WPT will retain its cash, cash equivalents and investments; proceeds will not be distributed to stockholders.

The transaction must be approved by WPT stockholders. WPT and Gamynia expect the acquisition to close by the end of the year.

The company’s marquee World Poker Tour is currently in its eighth season and will be shown on cable news channel Fox Sports Net. However, the Poker News Daily Web site reported that attendance was down this year at the series kickoff event in Las Vegas, the Bellagio Cup.

After the announcement, shares of WPT had lost 28 percent, or 41 cents, to $1.08 in mid-morning trading on the Nasdaq.