Blackstone proposes to buy Crown Resorts for £4.47 billion

Blackstone Group Inc (NYSE: BX) expressed plans of buying Australia’s largest gaming and entertainment group, Crown Resorts Ltd (ASX: CWN), on Monday for £4.47 billion.  

Blackstone remained almost flat on average in premarket trading on Monday. The stock is currently trading at a per-share price of £52.22 after recovering from a low of £26 per share in the last week of March 2020, when the impact of COVID-19 was at its peak. If you want to invest in the stock market online, you will need a reliable stockbroker – here is a comparison of the top few to make selection easier for you.

Blackstone’s offer translates to £6.62 per share

Blackstone’s proposed offer translates to £6.62 per share – a 20% premium on the price at which Crown Resorts closed the regular session on Friday. Portfolio Manager Nathan Bell of Intelligent Investor commented on the news on Monday and said:

As per Crown Resorts, its board is yet to decide on the proposal. The company also highlighted that its founder James Packer would receive roughly £1.62 billion if it signs an agreement with Blackstone. Packer currently has the largest 36% stake in Crown Resorts.

In separate news from the United States, PepsiCo jumped 1% in premarket trading on Monday as Barclays upgraded the stock from ‘equal weight’ to ‘overweight’.

Blackstone already has a 9.99% stake in Crown Resorts

Blackstone already has a 9.99% stake in Crown Resorts that makes it the second-largest shareholder of the company. Packer refrained from commenting on the news on Monday. Crown Resorts confirmed that it received a bid from Blackstone but refused to divulge further information at this stage.

Crown Resorts was stripped of its license last month to operate a new flagship casino located on Sydney’s waterfront on allegations of organised crime and money laundering. It has a license to operate in two other Australian states, where the country’s financial crimes agency has launched an inquiry as well.

Crown Resorts closed at a per-share price of £6.68 on Monday. In comparison, it had started the year at a much lower £5.53 per share.