James Packer’s Consolidated Press Holdings retains Moelis to advise on Crown Resorts

James Packer has indicated he is open to selling his near $3bn Crown stake to Blackstone, as Consolidated Press Holdings taps Moelis for advice.

James Packer in Melbourne last year. Picture: Aaron Francis/The Australian

James Packer has indicated he is open to selling his near-$3bn stake in Crown Resorts to US private equity firm Blackstone, with his holding company Consolidated Press Holdings confirming it has appointed Moelis Australia as an adviser in relation to the $8bn indicative bid for the casino group.

“CPH welcomes the Crown board’s announcement that it will commence a process to assess the proposal and it will also engage with relevant stakeholders including regulatory authorities about the proposal,” the company said in a statement on Tuesday.

“CPH has retained Moelis Australia as its investment banking adviser in relation to its ­approximate 37 per cent shareholding in Crown.”

It noted Crown had confirmed there was no certainty the Blackstone proposal would progress to a transaction and said the door remained open to any future offers.

“CPH is open to considering, and will independently assess, any suitable transaction for Crown shares that may eventuate,” the statement said.

“CPH will closely follow future announcements by the Crown board in relation to the proposal.”

The local arm of US investment bank ­Moelis & Co joins investment bank UBS in assessing the deal, with a team of advisers led by Kelvin Barry assisting the Crown board and its executive chairman Helen Coonan in evaluating the offer.

Blackstone, which holds a 10 per cent stake in Crown, has made its opportunistic bid while Crown is in the middle of getting its house in order following the devastating findings of the Bergin inquiry in NSW, and as it braces for weeks of hearings of royal commissions in Victoria and Western Australia.

Blackstone’s $11.85-a-share offer values Mr Packer’s stake in Crown at roughly $2.95bn, meaning about 65 per cent of his fortune is tied up in the gaming and hotel giant that operates casinos in Sydney, Perth, Melbourne and London.

But with the Bergin inquiry in February finding that Crown ­Resorts is unsuitable to operate its Sydney casino and recommending that no single shareholder should own more than 10 per cent of a casino operator without regulatory approval, it is likely Mr Packer will be compelled to reduce or offload his stake.

In 2019, Mr Packer twice attempted to offload his shares: once through the sale of 19.9 per cent of his stake to former joint venture partner Lawrence Ho’s Melco Group that was only half completed, and once in an aborted takeover bid by US gaming giant Wynn Resorts.

Moelis & Co was retained as an adviser for Wynn before Wynn abandoned its $10bn bid for Crown.

In 2015, Crown’s Asian joint venture with Melco appointed the investment bank to assist with the financing for its Studio City casino resort in Macau.

In 2007 Crown spent $1.5bn on a joint venture with Macquarie Group in Canada’s Gateway ­Casinos venture, before three years later, in the wake of the global financial crisis, Crown’s stake was written down to zero and the company was ­recapitalised with the help of ­Moelis.

The Australian understands Mr Packer is close with Moelis CEO and founder Ken Moelis.

Crown Resorts’ board has yet to formally issue a view on the Blackstone bid, almost three weeks after it was made public, although an offer was in the works as far back as last September.

The company declined to comment on the status of the bid’s evaluation.

Analysts have speculated that Crown shareholders — including Mr Packer, who holds the largest stake — may deem its price insufficient.

Separately on Tuesday, Crown Resorts confirmed that Nigel Morrison had taken up his position as a non-executive director after clearing regulatory approvals. He will replace outgoing director John Horvath, who announced he would step down at Crown’s AGM after CPH used its voting power to stop shareholders voting him off the board.

Mr Morrison’s appointment was announced in late January. He has previously served as chief operating officer of Crown’s Melbourne casino and CEO of New Zealand gaming group SkyCity.

Crown Resorts shares fell 0.84 per cent on Tuesday to $11.81.

Crown Resorts is the subject of a conditional takeover offer from Blackstone. Picture: NCA NewsWire / David Crosling.