sale of Full Tilt Poker to Groupe Bernard Tapie has moved a step closer after the parties reached an agreement with the U.S. Justice Department.

An agreement letter signed by U.S. attorney Jason Cowley and Group Bernard Tapie attorney Behnam Dayanim confirmed a deal for the French investors to purchase Full Tilt’s assets for $80 million. The assets will be forfeited to the U.S. government, which will sell them on to the Group.

The government would then use the funds from the sale to pay back U.S. players, who will have to apply for compensation through the Department of Justice (DOJ). Group Bernard Tapie will be responsible for the refunding of players outside the U.S.

As part of the deal the DOJ has agreed to drop a civil lawsuit against Full Tilt, although existing individual indictments are unaffected.

In an emailed statement Full Tilt said they hoped to “bring this matter to a complete resolution as soon as possible”.