Blackstone Sweetens Proposal for Australia's Crown Resorts

By Rhiannon Hoyle

Troubled Australian casino operator Crown Resorts Ltd. said it received a sweetened takeover proposal from Blackstone Group Inc. that its directors would likely unanimously recommend if the U.S. investment firm were to make a binding offer.

Crown on Thursday said it received the revised nonbinding proposal from Blackstone for 13.10 Australian dollars ($9.54) per share in cash, an increase from the A$12.50 a share Blackstone offered in November and Crown later rejected as too low.

After dismissing its last bid, Crown offered Blackstone, which owns about 10% of Crown shares, the opportunity to undertake initial due diligence to reconsider its proposal.

"Blackstone has made the revised proposal after considering nonpublic information provided by Crown during initial due diligence," the Australian company said.

Crown said its directors viewed nonexclusive engagement with Blackstone in the interests of its shareholders and that it would allow Blackstone to finalize its due diligence inquiries and negotiate the terms of an implementation agreement. Should Blackstone make a binding offer of A$13.10 a share or more, Crown directors currently intend to unanimously recommend shareholders accept the proposal.

Blackstone has made several takeover bids for Crown, starting with an A$11.85-per-share offer in March. Blackstone already has real-estate assets in Australia and a gaming footprint in other countries.

Crown has faced regulatory scrutiny recently over its business practices that has raised questions about its ability to continue operating its casinos.

Write to Rhiannon Hoyle at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 12, 2022 17:30 ET (22:30 GMT)

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