March 29, 2022 · Asia Pacific Gaming Mergers and Acquisitions

Blackstone Crown Resorts Takeover Clears Major Regulatory Hurdle

The Blackstone Group’s AU$8.9 1000000000 (US$6.6 billion) takeover of Australian casino steady Crown Resorts passed its for the first time major regulatory hurdle this week.

Crown Resorts revealed today through and through a regulatory filing made with the Aussie Securities Exchange that the $6.6 one thousand million agreement has received written verification from the Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) expressing no objections to the proposed scheme.

[Crown and Blackstone have] received written substantiation from the Foreign Investment Review Board that the Commonwealth Government has no more objection to Blackstone’s proposed acquisition of Crown past path of the proposed Scheme,” the ASX filing said.

FIRB is an Australian governmental federal agency that reviews major business concern plans involving foreign persons or companies. FIRB is an main(a) unit, but its operations are aided by the First Lord of the Treasury Ministry.

While the board’s functions are consultatory only if — meaning it cannot singlehandedly cube a business organisation trade involving a foreign entity — its recommendations persuade heavyweight with other affirmative agencies.

More Approvals Needed

FIRB blessing Blackstone Group’s acquisition of Crown Resorts should improve the odds of the 2 entities completing their terms with few headaches. Crown said inwards its free that the strategy is allay content to legion(p) other conditions, including favorable reception from gaming regulators and Crown shareholders.

Gaming authorities are expected to welcome the Blackstone takeover. Crown’s reputation has been damaged greatly over the past times several years. It was accused of a myriad of issues, such as promoting gambling unlawfully inwards China.

Crown has since been deemed unsuitable to sustain gaming licenses inwards from each one of the trey Aboriginal Australian states where it does byplay — New South Wales, Victoria, and Western Australia.

Crown was allowed to keep back its cassino permits inwards capital of Seychelles and Western Australia, where it owns and operates Crown Melbourne and Crown Perth.

NSW officials opted to arrest issuing Crown its gaming concession for its new opened Crown Sydney. Crown was precondition clip to live up to a oversupply of concerns raised in the NSW inquiry. The VIP casino at Crown Sydney hopes to finally undetermined later this yr — nearly two years after the structured resort hotel opened as a non-gaming terminus in Dec of 2020.

No I. F. Stone Unturned

Blackstone, the US-based private equity behemoth, hopes to spread out its gaming portfolio to Australia. The keep company has been super bullish on gaming amid the pandemic.

Just prior to COVID-19, Blackstone in agreement(p) to win the Bellagio from MGM Resorts for $4.25 billion. Blackstone now leases plunk for the trading operations of the Las Vegas Strip star to MGM.

In Jan of 2020, as the coronavirus was seemly a world(a) concern, Blackstone nonetheless went through and through with getting 49.9% of Mandalay Bay and MGM Grand Las Vegas from MGM. Again, MGM Resorts pays Blackstone lease for its existent acres ownership positions inwards the properties.

Not through in time with gaming, Blackstone struck yet another sale-leaseback intrigue with MGM endure July to win Aria and Vdara for $3.89 billion.

After establishing a considerable front on the Las Vegas Strip, Blackstone focussed on expanding Down Under. The strategy existence worked through with Crown didn’t tour exactly as Blackstone planned. The company’s pilot takeover proffer for the troubled cassino manipulator was AU$11.85 per share. The agreed-to $6.6 1000000000000 acquisition represents an offering of AU$13.10 per deal — a nearly 11% premium.

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