This week Australian land betting giant The Star Entertainment Group Limited announced that they're cutting off their non-binding merger agreement with Crown Resorts following the latter's regulatory issues in the country.
The announcement came through a press release by Star, who cited Victoria's Royal Commission investigation into Crown's Melbourne location. Star claims that pending sanctions against Crown's gaming license in the state could negatively impact the value of the company, and therefore could tarnish any merger.
If the two companies would have merged, it would have created around $150 million to $200 million in cost savings annually, while also giving the conglomeration important real estate holdings which they could lease back to operators.
The release by the company read in part: "We continue to believe substantial benefits could be unlocked by a merger, however the uncertainty surrounding Crown is such that The Star is unable to continue at the present time with its Proposal in the form as announced on 10 May 2021."
Star said that they're remaining focused on their operations, as they have a new resort, Queen's Wharf Brisbane set to open late next year.