In a recent announcement, Crown Resorts accepted an $8 billion equity takeover from Blackstone, the US’s renowned private equity giant. However, the Board of Directors of Crown declared that the proposal is yet to be assessed by the company. Blackstone owns around 10 percent of the stocks of Crown Resorts. It is also the owner of the famous casino house of Vegas, Bellagio Casino, which was acquired for around $5.5 billion, along with casino The Cosmopolitan of Vegas, the real estate assets of MGM Mandalay Bay and MGM Grand, and the gaming hall manager, Cirsa. The private equity firm of the United States operates hundreds of renowned casinos across Europe and the US and possesses immense experience in the business of casino and hotel operation.
Currently, Crown Resorts is in consultation with the regulatory authorities and other relevant stakeholders to make decisions regarding accepting the offer from Blackstone. On Monday, James Packer’s stocks closed at $11.97, which was higher than last week’s statistics by 21 percent. With Blackstone’s new offer, investors are rushing in to strike new and lucrative deals to make the best of the rising stock prices. The Crown stocks were worth around %12.10 in Jan 2020 before the pandemic forced the casinos of Crown Resorts almost out of business. Nonetheless, James Packer is still the owner of 37 percent of the stocks of Crown Resorts. He is the kingmaker of every takeover bid, and at present, he is more than willing to accept the takeover offer from the New York-based private equity firm, Blackstone.
The offer from Blackstone has turned out to be a fortunate deal for Crown Resorts as the latter is reeling under the investigative pressure of the NSW Bergin Inquiry. The NSW Bergin Inquiry is probing into the money laundering accusations against Crown Resorts, and as such, the offer from Blackstone will help in meeting the expenses of the legal proceedings.
