At a time Crown Resorts is still trying to polish out its reputation and viability as a casino operator, a number of other operators have demonstrated their interest to approach it as potential buyers of some or all of its assets. The Blackstone Group and Oaktree Capital Group have been considered as the biggest contenders, especially due to their large financial capabilities, but another rival has stepped in recently.
As Casino Guardian previously reported, Australia’s Star Entertainment also tabled an acquisition offer for the troubled gambling giant. Although it is yet unclear whether Crown Resorts will be willing to negotiate at all, and there is a lot of work to be done, an arrangement with Star Entertainment makes a lot of sense, and not only to analysts, because the two biggest hospitality companies in the country have just had a meeting to consider their options.
According to reports, the chief executive officers of the two largest casino and integrated resort operators in Australia have met to discuss Star Entertainment’s proposal for a merger in detail. Media reports said that last week, Matt Bekier, CEO of Star Entertainment held a meeting with Steve McCann, the recently appointed boss of Crown Resorts to discuss some of the finer details of the company’s takeover proposal unveiled at the beginning of May.
Mr McCann took over the position of a chief executive officer at Crown Resorts on June 1st after Ken Barton left the company as a result of the damning NSW Commissioner Bergin’s Report into the suitability of the Australian gambling giant to keep its Barangaroo casino operating licence.
Combination with Star Entertainment Could Be Most Logical for Troubled Crown Resorts
So far, no details of the conversation between the two casino companies’ executives have been released. Still, it seems that Crown Resorts’ new CEO could be a little more prone to working on a potential merger with Star Entertainment than with any other operator. So far, the operator has asked Star to provide more details about its takeover proposal and now it seems that the two companies might consider a possible deal more seriously. Of course, the meeting of the two CEOs does not necessarily mean that an arrangement will be made.
One of the main reasons why a combination with the Star Entertainment might be considered more seriously by Crown Resorts is the fact that the company already holds an operating licence in much of Australia, which would make a transition easier. However, local regulators would have to monitor and assess the deal because monopoly concerns would inevitably be raised, and the two companies would not be allowed to proceed with a possible merger without the permission of the competition watchdogs.
According to reports, if Crown Resorts accepts the full acquisition offer of the Star Entertainment, the deal would see Crown shareholders own 59%, and Star shareholders own 41% in the newly-merged entity.
- Author
Olivia Cole
