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NSW regulator to study Crown Sydney after Melco buy in


The gambling regulator in New South Wales plans to review its 2014 approval for Crown Resorts to build a six-star property in Barangaroo, Sydney, after Macau’s Melco Resorts & Entertainment bought a 19.9 percent stake in the Australian operator, Reuters reports.

Part of the condition for the 2014 approval was that Crown would not do business with the father of Melco CEO Lawrence Ho, Stanley Ho, or his associates. The elder Ho was at the time under investigation in Australia and the United States for possible ties to organized crime. He has denied the charges and Crown has previously stressed the younger Ho’s business interests are separate from his father’s.

The regulator told the news agency in an email that it would “now review all relevant issues when considering the required approvals and probity checks”. The regulator said it had “carefully considered” Crown’s relationship with Melco.

Crown resorts’ share price fell 3 percent on Friday to below the $13.00 Melco agreed to pay for its stake. The stock had baked in a takeover premium after the disclosure last month it had been in talks with Wynn Resorts about a possible acquisition.

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