Blackstone bid for Crown Resorts to face regulatory process
Blackstone’s bid to acquire Crown Resorts in Australia will have to wait until regulators can confirm it has no ties with junkets.
US.- Blackstone will face an exhaustive regulatory process before it can acquire Crown resorts, according to the New South Wales gambling regulator, the Independent Liquor and Gaming Authority (ILGA).
Th IGLA has warned Blackstone that any relationship with a junket operator would be put under a microscope before its AU$8bn offer could be approved.
Philip Crawford, ILGA chief executive, told the Australian publication Financial Review that Blackstone should expect an exhaustive process with no set deadline.
Crawford said the IGLA would be in no rush and would prioritise the objectivity of information. He said the “junket model had no favor anymore” and that the regulator would scrutinise any ties to junket operators in Europe or the United States.
Crown Resorts has come under scrutiny in Australia over money laundering through casino junket operations and is currently at risk of losing its licence for its yet-to-open new casino in Sydney. It has been suggested that a possible acquisition by Blackstone could help it to keep the licence.
