{"id":176423,"date":"2021-06-15T07:58:06","date_gmt":"2021-06-15T14:58:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/oaktree-ups-stakes-in-bid-to-buyback-packers-crown-resorts-shares\/"},"modified":"2021-06-15T09:59:59","modified_gmt":"2021-06-15T16:59:59","slug":"oaktree-ups-stakes-in-bid-to-buyback-packers-crown-resorts-shares","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/oaktree-ups-stakes-in-bid-to-buyback-packers-crown-resorts-shares\/","title":{"rendered":"Oaktree Capital Ups Stakes in $2.39B Bid for James Packer\u2019s Crown Shares"},"content":{"rendered":"

Oaktree Capital is determined to help Crown Resorts buyback billionaire founder James Packer\u2019s shares, while nabbing some equity for itself in the process.<\/p>\n

\"Oaktree\"
James Packer, seen here, has largely withdrawn from business life, citing mental health problems, and is understood to be willing to sell for the right price. (Image: Sky News<\/em>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The private equity group has reaffirmed its interest in Australia\u2019s biggest casino company with an offer of A$3.1 billion ($2.39 billion USD) in financing. This would take the form of one A$2 billion private loan and a A$1.1 billion loan convertible into new shares.<\/p>\n

This deal would allow Crown to acquire Packer\u2019s 37 percent and give Oaktree a ten percent stake in the company.<\/strong><\/p>\n

This is a slight increase on the A$3 billion in funding it offered Crown two months ago as part of a similarly structured deal.<\/p>\n

Crown said in a filing to the ASX that it had \u201cnot yet formed a view\u201d on the merits of the new Oaktree proposal.<\/p>\n

Crown Undervalued<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The offer represents an alternative strategy to the two bids also on the table from Star Entertainment and the Blackstone Group<\/a>. It may well be appealing to those shareholders who are reluctant to sell Crown in its entirety because they believe it is undervalued.<\/p>\n

The economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic and Crown\u2019s recent regulatory troubles have hit the company hard, but analysts predict a brighter future. After all, that\u2019s why some of the smartest people in the private equity sector are currently knocking on the door.<\/p>\n

\n

Star is the Crown\u2019s primary competitor in the Australian market. The company has offered an all-stock buyout of A$9 billion ($6.9 billion), while Blackstone recently increased its all-cash bid to A$8.4 billion ($6.4 billion), having been knocked back by the Crown board.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Packer, 53, has been willing to sell for some time. The billionaire has largely withdrawn from business life because of mental health issues and is understood to be waiting for the right price.<\/p>\n

Regulatory Pressures <\/strong><\/h2>\n

But Packer\u2019s influence on Crown was subject to criticism during the Bergin Inquiry, a months-long suitability examination that ultimately stripped the company of its Sydney gaming license.<\/p>\n

Chair Patricia Bergin, a former judge, criticized Packer\u2019s oversight of Crown\u2019s VIP gambling division. The inquiry concluded it did business with junkets that had links to organized crime while facilitating money laundering.<\/strong><\/p>\n

She also criticized a secret information-sharing agreement between Packer and the Crown board that was not available to other shareholders.<\/p>\n

Crown is currently facing an additional suitability investigation in Victoria, home to its flagship Melbourne property.<\/p>\n

\n

Meanwhile, Australia\u2019s financial intelligence unit, Austrac, recently reported that it had broadened<\/a> its anti-money laundering investigation to include Crown\u2019s Perth property. It has been investigating the Melbourne property since October of last year.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

It is also looking into Star Entertainment\u2019s Star Casino Sydney and SkyCity Adelaide, owned by New Zealand\u2019s SkyCity.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Oaktree Capital is determined to help Crown Resorts buyback billionaire founder James Packer\u2019s shares, while nabbing some equity for itself in the process. The private equity group has reaffirmed its interest in Australia\u2019s biggest casino company with an offer of A$3.1 billion ($2.39 billion USD) in financing. This would take the form of one A$2 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":36,"featured_media":176424,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[69069,32093],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nOaktree Ups Stakes in Bid to Buyback Packer\u2019s Crown Resorts Shares<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Oaktree Capital Group has offered Crown Resorts $2.39 billion to buyback James Packer\u2019s shares, while getting 10 percent equity.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/oaktree-ups-stakes-in-bid-to-buyback-packers-crown-resorts-shares\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Oaktree Ups Stakes in Bid to Buyback Packer\u2019s Crown Resorts Shares\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Oaktree Capital Group has offered Crown Resorts $2.39 billion to buyback James Packer\u2019s shares, while getting 10 percent equity.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/oaktree-ups-stakes-in-bid-to-buyback-packers-crown-resorts-shares\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Casino.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Casino.OrgNews\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-06-15T14:58:06+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-06-15T16:59:59+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/packer.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"675\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Philip Conneller\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@casinoorgphilc\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Casino_Org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Philip Conneller\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/oaktree-ups-stakes-in-bid-to-buyback-packers-crown-resorts-shares\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/oaktree-ups-stakes-in-bid-to-buyback-packers-crown-resorts-shares\/\",\"name\":\"Oaktree Ups Stakes in Bid to Buyback Packer\u2019s Crown Resorts Shares\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/oaktree-ups-stakes-in-bid-to-buyback-packers-crown-resorts-shares\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/oaktree-ups-stakes-in-bid-to-buyback-packers-crown-resorts-shares\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/packer.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-06-15T14:58:06+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-06-15T16:59:59+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/58769b72851c8cf117fb58ca150ebf8b\"},\"description\":\"Oaktree Capital Group has offered Crown Resorts $2.39 billion to buyback James Packer\u2019s shares, while getting 10 percent equity.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/oaktree-ups-stakes-in-bid-to-buyback-packers-crown-resorts-shares\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/oaktree-ups-stakes-in-bid-to-buyback-packers-crown-resorts-shares\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/oaktree-ups-stakes-in-bid-to-buyback-packers-crown-resorts-shares\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/packer.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/packer.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":675,\"caption\":\"James Packer has largely withdrawn from business life, citing mental health problems, and is understood to be willing to sell for the right price. 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