Public inquiry to determine Crown and Star merger suitability

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) will conduct a public review to analyse whether Crown Resorts and Star are allowed to merge.

Australia.- Following The Star Entertainment’s unsolicited non-binding offer of AU$12bn (US$9.4bn) to acquire Crown Resorts, Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) chairman, Rod Sims has announced that a public review will be carried out to decide whether Star Entertainment would be allowed to make the acquisition.

Sims noted that the potential merger would result in a casino giant with operations in the main Australian states. 

According to local media, Sims said: “It’s very early days. But we would look at the market for domestic table game customers and we would look at the competition between Barangaroo and Star in Sydney.”

For now, Crown Resorts’ key shareholder James Packer has not commented on the offer from The Star Entertainment.

A possible merger could present a problem for Packer as he already has a stake in Star that he bought when the company was known as Echo Entertainment.

Meanwhile, Blackstone has improved its own original offer for Crown Resorts from AU$11.85 cash per share to AU$12.35.