Operator News

Australia – Crown says yes to improved Blackstone offer

By Phil - 15 February 2022

Australian casino giant Crown Resorts has said yes to an improved takeover offer from US private equity firm Blackstone, who upped its offer to A$8.9bn ($6.3bn)10 per cent higher than its previous offer.

Crown Resorts confirms it has entered into a ‘scheme implementation deed’ with a company on behalf of funds managed and advised by Blackstone Inc. and its affiliates, under which Blackstone will acquire all of the shares in Crown at a price of A$13.10 cash per share.

Crown’s Chairman, Ziggy Switowski said: “The Crown Board and management have made good progress in addressing a number of significant challenges and issues emerging from the COVID-19 pandemic and various regulatory processes. Nevertheless, uncertainty remains and having regard to those circumstances and the underlying value of Crown we believe the Blackstone transaction represents an attractive outcome for shareholders. The all-cash offer provides shareholders with certainty of value.”

Moody’s said of the deal: “Given a successful transaction would put Crown under private equity ownership, and that the private equity business model typically involves more aggressive financial policies and a leveraged capital structure to extract value, Moody’s believes that a successful transaction could likely lead to a downgrade, perhaps of multiple notches.”

“However, if the transaction is unsuccessful, or is funded in a way that allows Crown to continue to maintain adjusted financial metrics in line with Moody’s current expectations, the ratings could be confirmed. The company’s financial strategy and risk management is a key component of our governance risk assessment framework and today’s rating action considers the uncertainty around Crown’s future financial strategy from a potential transaction.”