Threeâs a crowd at Crown; BGH runs numbers
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BGH Capital is considering rolling the dice at Crown Resorts.
As American private equity groups Blackstone and Oaktree Capital try to get Crown to engage on their respective indicative offers, it is understood the purveyor of Australiaâs biggest buyout fund is thinking about a run of its own.
Street Talk. Â
Chris Hopkins
Sources said BGH Capital had yet to make an offer, or formally approach Crown, although the targetâs camp is aware of a handful of interested parties. Blackstone and Oaktree are just two.
The big question is how BGH Capital would fund such a proposal, and whether it could go head to head with a global buyout titan and experienced casino operator like Blackstone. The Australian firm has a $2.6 billion buyout fund and typically writes cheques worth up to a few hundred million dollars.
Packer spared royal commission grilling The reclusive billionaire has not been called to give evidence at the Crown Resorts royal commission in Perth, but that could change.
Crime by Rebecca Le May 20th Apr 2021 3:44 PM James Packer has not been called to give evidence at the royal commission in Western Australia that is digging into evidence Crown Resorts facilitated money laundering at its Perth casino. The probe, along with a separate royal commission in Victoria, comes after a NSW gaming regulator inquiry concluded evidence showed the company turned a blind eye to money laundering at its Perth and Melbourne venues and it partnered with Asian junket tour operators with links to organised crime.
Oaktree Investments proposes to buy back James Packer s stake in Crown Resorts
19 Apr, 2021 12:43 AM
2 minutes to read
James Packer. Photo / Getty Images
news.com.au
By: Gerard Cockburn
An investment firm has pledged to fund a buyout of James Packer s stake in Crown Resorts, potentially paving a way for the casino giant to obtain its Sydney gaming licence.
Crown acknowledged that it had received a non-binding and indicative proposal from Oaktree Investments to fund a buy back of shares owned by the billionaire s private company Consolidated Press Holdings (CPH).
Oaktree s proposal details an investment funding of nearly A$3 billion ($3.2b) to Crown in order to buy back some or all of the shares held by CPH.
Australian casino operator Crown Resorts Ltd said on Monday it had received a circa AUD3.0-billion (US$2.31-billion) proposal by private equity firm Oaktree Capital Management LP to buy the circa 37-percent stake of James Packer (pictured in a file photo) in the casino firm.
Crown said the “unsolicited, preliminary, non-binding and indicative proposal” was from a company acting on behalf of Oaktree Capital Management. The latter is a U.S.-based global asset management firm specialising in what it terms alternative investment strategies.
Consolidated Press Holdings Pty Ltd holds Mr Packer’s stake in Crown Resorts – currently the largest single interest in the casino firm – amounting to about 37 percent, according to Monday’s filing.