Federal Court approves Blackstone’s acquisition of Crown

The Federal Court of Australia has given the deal the final approval required.

Australia.- Blackstone Inc’s acquisition of Crown Resorts is to go ahead. It’s now gained the final approval needed from the Federal Court of Australia. Crown Resorts said it expects to lodge an office copy of the Court orders with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission today (June 15), at which point the takeover will become legally effective. 

Crown will request that quotation of Crown shares on the ASX be suspended from close of trading today. 

The court’s decision was the final approval that Blackstone and Crown needed following approval by the governments of Western Australia, Victoria and New South Wales.

Under the takeover deal, Blackstone will pay Crown shareholders $13.10 cash per Crown share held at 7pm on June 17. The expected implementation date is June 24.

The Alliance for Gambling Reform opposes Crown Resorts takeover

Rev. Tim Costello, the Alliance for Gambling Reform’s chief advocate, has warned that Blackstone would be “less accountable than Crown Resorts.”

Costello stated: “As a foreign-owned private equity company, Blackstone will not hold annual general meetings and now that Crown’s Chinese high-roller business has collapsed it will seek to recoup lost income from its poker machines.”

He added: “This decision poses great risk to the community and reflects a failure to heed the lessons of the Royal Commission. It will now be up to this government to have strong and transparent protections in place.”