Crown to recoup A$150m through CrownBet sale

Australian gaming group Crown Resorts has agreed to sell its majority stake in online gaming site CrownBet in a A$150m (€98m/$118m) deal.

The company said it has entered into an agreement for the sale of its 62% stake – along with loans advanced by it to CrownBet – to a group of investors including the site’s chief executive, Matthew Tripp.

The sale comes two months after it was announced William Hill was in talks to buy Crown’s stake.

In a filing with the Australian Securities Exchange, Crown said the deal, which is subject to the buyers arranging satisfactory financing, is expected to close by the end of February.

Offloading the stake in CrownBet, which accounts for roughly 10% of Australia’s domestic wagering market, is part of a plan, announced in December, to recoup around A$700m in asset sales.

It has already sold land in Las Vegas where it had planned to build a casino to Wynn Resorts for A$385m. It plans to divest a stake in gaming giant Caesars Entertainment Corporation and real estate within its luxury Sydney development.

Related article: Crown Resorts, Hills begin talks over CrownBet stake