The wounded Star Entertainment Group has left the door open to reviving its merger proposal for Crown Resorts after US private equity giant Blackstone launched a sweetened bid for the James Packer-backed casino empire on Friday, laying the ground for a fresh bidding war.
Blackstone, which already owns 10 per cent of Crown and is its second-biggest shareholder, lobbed a sweetened takeover offer of $12.50 cash per share, valuing the beleaguered casino group at $8.5 billion.
James Thomson is senior Chanticleer columnist based in Melbourne. He was the Companies editor and editor of BRW Magazine. Connect with James on Twitter. Email James at j.thomson@afr.com
