Crown accepts $9b takeover offer from Blackstone

Crown Resorts has agreed to sell its casino empire to US private equity giant Blackstone for around $8.9 billion in a deal that would see billionaire James Packer finally exit the company he has dominated for over two decades.

Crown and Blackstone have been negotiating for the past month after Blackstone offered $13.10 per share cash for the company in January, which Crown said it would accept if they reached a binding agreement.

Crown said on Monday morning it had entered a binding deal with Blackstone, which would be put to a shareholder vote in the second quarter of this year. Mr Packer, who owns 37 per cent of the company, will net $3.26 billion if the sale goes ahead.

If the transaction goes ahead, Blackstone take control of Crown’s flagship Melbourne property, its Perth resort and new $2.2 billion hotel and casino tower at Sydney’s Barangaroo.

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The world’s largest private equity firm still needs clearance from gambling regulators in each state and comes after nearly two-and-a-half years of intense scrutiny over Crown’s probity.

Crown’s gambling licence for its new Sydney tower remains suspended after a public inquiry ruled in early 2021 that it was unfit to run a casino after finding evidence it had been infiltrated by criminal syndicates and money launderers.

Victoria held a royal commission into Crown’s Melbourne property last year and also ruled it unfit to hold its licence after uncovering a string of legal and ethical breaches, but did not recommend cancelling the licence because of the damage that would inflict on the state’s economy.

More to come