Two Crown Resorts Ltd directors with links to major shareholder James Packer resigned on Wednesday, the first heads to roll after the Australian casino operator was deemed unfit to hold a gambling licence for its new Sydney casino, Reuters reported. The upheaval in the wake of a report commissioned by the state gambling watchdog raised speculation among analysts that the A$6.6 billion ($5.1 billion) company was in play as a takeover target. The report, published on Tuesday, cited Crown’s links to organised crime and the “dysfunctional” influence of Packer as it declared the company unsuitable to hold a gaming licence for the casino in its newly opened A$2.2 billion Sydney waterfront resort tower. The former judge who headed the inquiry, Patricia Bergin, recommended a 10% shareholding limit for all casino operators in New South Wales state, a condition that would require founder Packer to sell down his 36% stake. Packer’s private company CPH said the departures of the executives, and the shift by a third director to independent status, would give Crown “clear air to work with (gaming regulator) ILGA in the execution of its announced reform agenda, and become a model casino operator.” Read more.
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