The Blackstone Group Inc. has raised its bid for Crown Resorts Ltd to $6.46 billion (€5.64 billion). Late last year, the company already made a $6.2 billion bid for the Australian casino operator. That new bid from Blackstone was rejected, but Crown Resorts indicated that they could come back with a new proposal.
In mid-November, it came out that The Blackstone Group Inc. had made a $6.2 billion bid for Crown Resorts Ltd. At the time, this was an "unsolicited and non-binding proposal," the casino company announced. It eventually decided to reject the investment management company's offer.
In the latest proposal, The Blackstone Group would pay AU$13.10 in cash per Crown share. That's an increase of $0.60 from the previous bid in November, the casino operator reported (PDF, 85 kB). Back then, the investment management company offered AU$12.50 cash per share. You too can get a huge win at the casino. Following the bid, Crown has given the investment management company space to complete its due diligence so that Blackstone can make a binding offer. If Blackstone does indeed make a binding offer of at least AU$13.10 per share, the offer will have the support of Crown's board.
The Blackstone Group Inc is already the second-largest shareholder in Crown Resorts Ltd, with 9.99% of the shares. In March last year, they made an offer of AU$11.85 (€7.60) per share and in May the offer was AU$12.35 (€7.92) per share. Both times the offer was rejected because these bids undervalued the company, Crown said.
In recent years, there have been rumors surrounding Crown Resorts in Australia. It all started in November 2020. That's when a special commission of inquiry in Australia announced that Crown Resorts Limited might lose its casino license. Also in 2021, the recommendations of the commission of inquiry were adopted by the authorities in New South Wales.
It also came out in April that the company was no longer allowed to do business with former owner James Packer and his Consolidated Press Holdings. Packer was still pulling the strings in the background, according to the regulator. In early 2021, a merger between Crown Resorts Ltd and Star Entertainment seemed imminent, but the ongoing lawsuits against the Australian operator pulled the plug.