Blackstone Tightens Crown Buyout Conditions

US private equity giant Blackstone has modified its $8-billion takeover bid of James Packer’s Crown Resorts in the face of two royal commissions.

In a statement to the ASX on Tuesday, Crown Resorts said new conditions had been made to Blackstone's $11.85 per share takeover bid on offer.

The modifications include that Blackstone receive approval from each relevant regulatory authority to acquire 100 per cent of the issued shares in Crown.

Royal commissions are currently being held for Crown's operations in Melbourne and Perth after a NSW inquiry found Crown facilitated money laundering through bank accounts held by subsidiaries.

Crown Resorts confirmed an $8-billion takeover offer from Blackstone late last month.

The ASX-listed Crown confirmed an unsolicited, non-binding offer of $11.85 a share was submitted to the company on March 21.

Blackstone’s offer is also subject to conditions that a number of possibilities do not occur by the time of the second court hearing.

This includes that any of Crown’s Victorian or Western Australian casino licences are threatened, cancelled, suspended, or that Crown’s NSW licence is not granted.

Blackstone’s modified conditions also include that any of the gaming regulatory authorities imposing terms or conditions on Crown’s casino licences or framework agreements which would constitute a material adverse change—such as having a financial impact on Crown greater than an agreed threshold.

Blackstone said it expects that it will receive probity approval to acquire 100 per cent of Crown from each of the state gaming regulators by the third quarter of this year.

The Crown Board said it was continuing its assessment of the proposal.

“Crown shareholders do not need to take any action in relation to the proposal at this stage,” a Crown spokesperson said.

“There is no certainty that the proposal will result in a transaction.”

James Packer is the largest shareholder in Crown, holding around 36 per cent.

Blackstone already owns nearly 10 per cent of Crown, which it secured in 2020 for $8.15 per share.

Blackstone, which recently purchased the Bellagio casino in Las Vegas for $US4. 25 billion ($5.5 billion), has also indicated that its proposal is not conditional on arranging debt financing.