Packer Still Looking To Take Crown Resorts Private

James Packer, controlling 53 percent in Crown Resorts, has held more talks with partners including US property giant Blackstone Real Estate over the proposed privatisation of Crown Resorts according to The Australian Financial Review.

Packer has harboured the desire to privatise the business and has reportedly engaged with buyout firms and sovereign wealth funds to ascertain the likelihood of raising part of the estimated $5billion or more he would need to privatise Crown according to the paper.

In Australia, Crown wholly owns and operates two of Australia’s leading integrated resorts, Crown Melbourne Entertainment Complex and Crown Perth Entertainment Complex.  Crown also fully owns and operates Crown Aspinall's in London.

The company also holds significant interests in Macau and also has a portfolio of other gaming investments that complement its business. There are signs that Macau’s beleaguered gaming market might be seeing a change in fortune.

There is much interest in the value of splitting Crown’s assets out and separating the property assets and gaming business. A range of possible structures are believed to have been explored.

Crown recently posted a net profit of $205 million for the six months to December 31, compared to $263 million in the prior corresponding period.

Concerns remain about the time frame of its $2 billion six-star hotel and casino at Barangaroo in Sydney which may not open until 2021 due to planning delays.