{"id":906,"date":"2021-03-31T04:17:42","date_gmt":"2021-03-30T17:17:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/uberpokies.org\/?p=906"},"modified":"2021-03-31T04:37:47","modified_gmt":"2021-03-30T17:37:47","slug":"james-packers-sydney-casino-plans-could-be-saved-by-crown-split","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/uberpokies.org\/james-packers-sydney-casino-plans-could-be-saved-by-crown-split\/","title":{"rendered":"James Packer\u2019s Sydney casino plans could be saved by Crown split"},"content":{"rendered":"
Billionaire James Packer suddenly has a whole new set of possibilities to consider following a bid for his beleaguered Crown Resorts by the biggest private equity firm in the world, Blackstone.<\/p>\n
Blackstone\u2019s cash bid comes in at $11.85 a share and values the company at $8 billion. This has been widely regarded as an opportunistic move as it trades on the achievable value assuming Crown is broken up.<\/p>\n
Blackstone\u2019s potential plan to split and auction off Crown\u2019s assets, which include its casinos in Melbourne, Sydney and Perth, exposes that beyond the $5 billion value that the hotel and resort assets represent, the operation\u2019s gaming licences also represent significant value. A casino\u2019s gaming licences and property assets are traditionally linked but selling them separately is permitted.<\/p>\n
Crown\u2019s balance sheet values the licences at $1 billion, however, this value was established pre-pandemic and before the condemning findings of the NSW Bergin inquiry. The inquiry\u2019s report states that Crown\u2019s Melbourne and Perth casinos \u200b had been permeated by organised crime groups who launder money; this information was confirmed by an investigative report from The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald journalist Nick McKenzie.<\/p>\n
The Bergin inquiry deemed Crown unfit to operate its Sydney licence, and the company was forced to halt the planned reopening of its casino floors. There are currently Royal Commissions reviewing Crown\u2019s licences in Victoria and Western Australia.<\/p>\n
Considering these developments, it is understandable that the value of Crown\u2019s licences may be called into question and puts Blackstone\u2019s seemingly miserly bid in firm perspective.<\/p>\n
Crown\u2019s licences aren\u2019t worth what they used to be due to a recommendation in the Bergin Report<\/a> to ban junket operators, some of which have been linked to organised crime. Crown Sydney\u2019s particular business model relied heavily on revenues from international tourism, and specifically junket operators who bring in high-roller clients.<\/p>\n