Crown seeks to recover part of US$94m shareholder settlement agreement

Crown Resorts has revealed it expects to recover a significant portion of the AU$125m (US$94.3m) settlement amount from its insurers.

Australia.- Two weeks ago, Crown Resorts reached an agreement to settle a shareholder class action against the company that started in December 2017 in the Federal Court of Australia. The total settlement amount was AU$125m (US$94.3m) inclusive of interest and costs.

Crown Resorts says it expects to recover a significant portion of the settlement amount from its insurers. The casino operator cannot be certain about the outcome of negotiations with insurers, or the outcome of any necessary formal steps for recovery it may need to take. 

The lawsuit against Crown Resorts was initiated by law firm Morris Blackburn in 2016. A few years later, the case was finally scheduled for hearing on October 29, 2021, but the casino company managed to reach an agreement before the hearing date. 

In October, Victoria’s Royal Commission officially declared Crown Resorts unsuitable to hold a licence for its Crown Melbourne casino. However, the operator was allowed to keep its licence under stricter conditions.

Judge Raymond Finkelstein, who led the state of Victoria’s inquiry, decided the casino operator can keep its licence through the appointment of a Special Manager to oversee the casino for the next two years.

Stephen O’Bryan QC, as Victoria’s first Independent Broad-based Anti-Corruption Commissioner, will be appointed to the position.

The Special Manager will have unprecedented powers to oversee Crown Resorts, veto decisions of the Board, and will have access to all areas of the casino and its books and records. 

Finkelstein said he had taken the decision because he understood that if Crown Melbourne’s licence was cancelled, it would hurt the Victorian economy. The proposal has been approved by the Victorian government, which said Crown’s licence will be cancelled unless Crown Resorts can convince the regulator it has changed. 

Crown appoints Danielle Keighery as chief corporate affairs and brand officer.

Crown has announced the appointment of Danielle Keighery to the new role of chief corporate affairs and brand officer.

Keighery will start working for the group by 2022 and will be in charge of Crown’s brand and reputation work across all touchpoints. Keighery will also align the company’s corporate affairs, public relations, government relations, brand, sponsorship, media and all corporate communications functions under her stewardship.

According to a company filing, Keighery spent 16 years at Virgin Enterprises and Virgin Australia Group in senior executive roles across corporate affairs, brand, marketing and customer experience.