Shares in Crown Resorts will plunge this morning on the ASX after US casino group, Wynn Resorts ended takeover talks overnight Tuesday, Sydney time.
The withdrawal came only hours after a leak in Australia on Tuesday forced Crown to confirm the discussions, and the price.
Crown Resorts shares jumped 19.6% to $14.05, below the proposed buyout price of $14.75 with investors sceptical of a deal.
In a short statement issued overnight Tuesday Sydney time Wynn Resorts said it was ending discussions with its Australian rival.
“Following the premature disclosure of preliminary discussions, Wynn Resorts has terminated all discussions with Crown Resorts concerning any transaction,” the company said in a statement in the US.
That was after an earlier SEC filing from Wynn which noted that Crown Resorts had issued a press release “about confidential discussions”.
Wynn confirmed it was in preliminary discussions but that no agreement had been reached and “there is no assurance that these discussions will result in a transaction”.
Reuters pointed out that Wynn then issued the short statement announcing its withdrawal just before trading started on Wall Street (late on Tuesday night, Sydney time).
The Wynn decision means James Packer will not exchange his 46.1% stake in Crown for $2 billion or so in cash and 9.8% of Wynn. That would have made him the biggest shareholder in Wynn.
