The private equity firm Blackstone Group has added more conditions to its proposal to take over the Australian gambling giant Crown Resorts. The acquisition bid of the company was announced in March 2021.
The acquisition offer includes several conditions, including the implementation of a binding Implementation Agreement and a number of terms under a Regulatory Approval Condition, with the latter seeking to make sure that Crown Resorts would be fit to operate its gambling facilities in Sydney, Melbourne and Perth under the ownership of New York-based Blackstone Group.
According to an announcement that has been made earlier today, any changes that are to be brought to the Regulatory Approval Condition mean that Blackstone Group will have to get the approval of each relevant watchdog in order to take over a 100% interest in the Australian casino company.
Furthermore, the proposed purchase will fail in case any of the licences held by Crown Resorts in the states of Victoria or Western Australia are surrendered, suspended or cancelled, or in case the casino operator is not granted its New South Wales (NSW) licences. In addition, Blackstone will surrender its offer in case any amendments that can be regarded as material adverse changes are made to the existing licences of Crown Resorts.
If the conditions are met, Blackstone is expected to get the permission of local regulators that would allow it to acquire all of Crown’s shares by the third quarter of 2021.
Crown Resorts’ Board of Directors to Assess Blackstone’s Takeover Proposal
As Casino Guardian already reported, Blackstone approached Crown Resorts with a takeover offer on March 22nd. Under the conditions of the proposed acquisition deal, it would take over all shares of the Australian gambling operator at the price of AU11.85 each, with the proposed deal estimated at a total of approximately AU$8.02 billion.
For the time being, the US private equity firm owns a stake of almost 10% in the Australian casino company, which it purchased in April 2020 from Melco Resorts & Entertainment. This basically makes Blackstone the second-biggest shareholder in Crown Resorts after the Australian billionaire investor James Packer.
As for Crown Resorts, the company revealed that its board had not formed an opinion on the advantages of the received takeover proposal. The gambling operator shared that Crown’s Board of Directors is set to start a process of assessment of Blackstone’s proposal after it got familiar with the terms of the proposal, its value and other considerations.
The added modified conditions to the acquisition deal proposal protect Blackstone from an adverse recommendation such as the suspension or cancellation of the Australian casino giant’s operating licences in Victoria and Western Australia by either investigation before the deal is approved by courts. The inquiries in the two aforementioned states are set to see some recommendations delivered in August and November 2021, respectively.
- Author
Olivia Cole
