Blackstone To Takeover Crown Resorts for $9 Billion
The American private equity group – Blackstone has sealed terms for the well-known Australian casino and gaming company Crown Resorts takeover for $8.9 billion. Under this deal, Blackstone will be buying all the shares listed in Crown Resorts for $13.10 each. The share price compares with the $12.39 closing price (for 11th of February 2022), when the gaming company was valued at $8.4 billion. The chair of Crown Resorts, Ziggy Switkowski, reported to the media that the board recommended the offer from Blackstone with one accord, subject to specific conditions though, including that no better offer was to emerge.
Details of the Blackstone – Crown Resorts Takeover
Ziggy Switkowski believes that this all-cash offer from Blackstone provides all the shareholders with certainty of value. Steve McCann, the Chief Executive Officer of Crown, further elucidated that the price offer undoubtedly reflected the value of the casino and gaming company’s assets, together with its global reputation for premium experiences and services.
In addition, the shareholders at Crown Resorts reckon that the agreement with Blackstone also highlights the forte of the Crown Resorts brand and confidence in their future as the company was emerging from some challenging times.
However, the transaction is still yet to be approved by the gaming regulator and the Foreign Investment Review Board. The pending receipt by the board of an autonomous expert report concludes that the offer is in the shareholders’ best interests.
Overview
Accepting this deal comes as Crown Resorts focuses on rebuilding after a couple of damaging years. The allegations made by the 60 Minutes episode impelled an inquiry into Crown Resort’s association with the well-known criminals. This resulted in the ILGA (Independent Liquor and Gaming Authority) in New South Wales not granting a gaming licence for their new $2.2 billion Crown Sydney casino. Crown Resorts currently still wholly operates and owns two of the biggest casinos in Australia, Crown Perth and Crown Melbourne.