Embattled Crown Resorts reported yesterday that it had appointed South Australian businessman Bruce Carter as a director to help fill out the casino group’s emaciated board.
Mr Carter was previously the deputy chair of NZ-based casino operator SkyCity Entertainment, which has casinos in Adelaide and Auckland.
He is currently the chair of Australian Submarine Corporation and retail landlord Aventus Capital, a director at Bank of Queensland and AIG Australia, and has previously been involved in a number of state and federal government reviews and advisory bodies.
“Bruce brings to the Crown board the ideal blend of commercial, governance and gaming sector expertise and is respected across Australia for his contribution to corporate and government roles,” said Crown chair Helen Coonan said in a statement to the ASX first thing Monday.
Crown’s board has been cleaned out in the wake of the damning Bergin Inquiry in NSW which ruled the group was unfit to hold the licence for its new Barangaroo casino in Sydney, triggering the resignation of CEO Ken Barton and five directors. Crown is now facing royal commissions into its licences in Victoria and WA.
Mr Carter will have to go through probity checks before he can start work as a director. Former SkyCity CEO Nigel Morrison started his position as a director last week after receiving probity clearance.
Crown on Monday said that Mr Morrison’s move onto the board cleared the way for John Horvath to leave the company. Dr Horvath has said previously that he would resign after being hit with a significant protest vote at last year’s annual meeting but stayed on while Crown searched for new directors.
Just how long these new directors will last on the board is a moot point. James Packer, who owns 37% of Crown, last week said he had appointed bankers at Moelis to advise on an $8 billion takeover bid for Crown from US private equity group Blackstone.
Blackstone will have to go through extensive probity checks of its own (but it already operates casinos in Las Vegas).
Crown shares fell 1.3% to $12.04, well above Blackstone’s suggested $11.85 a share price. That’s the market telling us that a deal will not be done at that level – a price well over $12 a share will be needed.
