The acquisition of Australian operator Crown Resorts by U.S.-based private equity firm Blackstone Group has been approved by the Western Australian Gaming and Wagering Commission (WAGWC) as well as the Federal Court of Australia, which were the last two approvals needed to complete the takeover.
Once the court filed the ruling with the Australian Securities and Investment Commission, the deal was officially finalized.
According to a statement from Crown, the company “will also request that quotation of Crown shares on the ASX be suspended,” effective June 15. Shareholders will be paid US$9.24 per share on June 24.
In recent weeks, Blackstone already received the go-ahead from both the Independent Liquor and Gaming Authority in New South Wales as well as the Victorian Gambling and Casino Control Commission to operate the Crown Sydney and Crown Melbourne casinos.
That left only the Crown Perth property in Western Australia, and after Tony Buti, Western Australian minister for racing and gaming, OK’d the deal, Blackstone only needed final approval from the Federal Court of Australia, which it received only days later.
With regards to the Perth ruling, the WAGWC stated that Blackstone will be held to high standards as a result of Crown’s previous bad behavior, including increased anti-money laundering and problem gaming provisions and non-interference measures that will prevent Blackstone investors from becoming involved in the operations of Crown Perth.
Additionally, Blackstone must report any further investigations from Australian or international regulators, and the firm will not be allowed to alter its internal structure without requisite approvals.
Following the WAGWC’s ruling, Buti said in a statement that these “stringent conditions” were aligned with “a number of the recommendations stemming from the recent Perth Casino Royal Commission.”
“The state government has already made significant improvements to the regulatory regime and remains committed to establishing an even tougher regulatory and governance framework to ensure whoever owns or runs Perth’s casino is held to account,” Buti added.
The recent merger was actually Blackstone’s fourth attempt to acquire the Australian operator—Crown shareholders rejected previous offers before eventually accepting the $6.39 billion proposal back in February.
Now that the deal is finalized, this looks to be the end of an extremely turbulent and fast-paced few years for Crown, after the operator was stripped of its casino licenses in New South Wales and Victoria less than two years ago.
