Shareholders of Crown Resorts Limited have approved by overwhelming majority a planned takeover of the company by US private equity firm The Blackstone Group.
According to details released following a Scheme Meeting on Friday, 92.05% of shareholders who were either present at the meeting or voting by proxy voted in favor of Blackstone’s acquisition, representing 99.91% of votes cast.
This is the second of four key steps before the acquisition is cleared, with Crown having already been given the green light by the Australian government’s Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB).
The next step will be gaining regulatory approvals before seeking the approval of the court.
“Crown will continue to assist Blackstone as it works towards obtaining the required gaming regulatory approvals,” the company said.
“Crown will announce to the ASX material developments in respect of Blackstone’s gaming regulatory approvals and, in due course, the date for the final Court hearing to approve the Scheme.
If the Court approves the Scheme, a copy of the Court orders will be lodged with ASIC, following which the Scheme will become legally effective, and Crown shares will be suspended from trading on the ASX.”
As previously reported by Inside Asian Gaming, in February Crown agreed to sale of all of its shares to Blackstone for AU$8.9 billion (US$6.5 billion), equivalent to AU$13.10 per share.
Blackstone’s final proposal was its fourth such attempt to takeover Crown, having launched an initial bid of AU$11.85 per share early last year and an AU$12.35 per share offer soon after. Crown knocked back those offers in May 2021, claiming they undervalued the company’s assets and future earnings power.
Blackstone already holds a 9.99% stake in Crown which it acquired from Melco Resorts & Entertainment in April 2020. Melco had purchased the 9.99% stake from James Packer’s Consolidated Press Holdings a year earlier but backed out of a deal to purchase a second tranche after regulators in New South Wales launched an independent inquiry, which in February 2021 ultimately led to the NSW regulator finding Crown unsuitable to hold a NSW casino license.
Blackstone was one of two major international investment groups to express an interest in Crown in 2021, the other being Oaktree Capital Management, while rival casino operator Star Entertainment Group withdrew a merger proposal in July.
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