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Toyota’s World Premiere of the All-New Crown Series

ruth
7 minutes

Toyota City, Japan, Jul 15, 2022 - (JCN Newswire via SEAPRWire.com) - TOYOTA has unveiled the all new Crown for the first time in the world, and will release the Crown (Crossover type) as the first model around the fall of this year(1).The Crown made its initial debut in 1955 as Toyota's first mass production passenger vehicle created with Toyota's own domestic technology. The DNA of "innovation and limit-pushing" that led to the creation of the first independently developed luxury car in the early postwar period has been passed down to successive models of Crowns for the past 67 years, always pursuing new values that are one step ahead of the times and loved by many customers. However, the times have changed even faster, and the Crown has become unable to fully meet the diversifying needs of its customers, and its presence as a flagship vehicle has become less significant.In designing the new Crown, the development team thoroughly reexamined what "Crown" is, and as a result of their pursuit of a "Crown for a new era," they have created four completely new models. In addition to the Crossover type, a new style that combines a sedan and an SUV, the Sport offers a sporty driving expe...

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Australia’s Star scraps $12 billion merger plan with Crown Resorts

elean
2 minutes

SYDNEY (REUTERS) - Star Entertainment Group said it has withdrawn its all-stock proposed takeover of larger rival Crown Resorts, valued at A$9 billion (S$9 billion), on Friday (July 23) over worries Crown may lose its licence to run its Melbourne casino. Australia's No.2 casino operator said it still believes in the benefits of a deal, but was worried issues raised at an inquiry looking into Crown's Melbourne casino could impact the embattled company's value. Crown said in a statement it remains willing to engage with Star, and will continue to consider any proposal it receives. An ongoing inquiry was told on Tuesday that Crown should be stripped off its gambling licence for the Melbourne resort, whose casino generates about three quarters of the company's profit, due to insufficient efforts to reform its culture. Star's decision removes a lifeline for Crown which has been trying to convince regulators it can rebuild its culture after an earlier inquiry in February found it allowed money laundering on its premises for years and declared the company unfit to open a just-built casino in Sydney. That inquiry, along with venue closures due to Covid-19 lockdowns, sent Crown's shares low...

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Australia’s Crown Resorts offered $3.09 billion to buy out James Packer

elean
2 minutes

SYDNEY (REUTERS) - Australia's Crown Resorts said on Monday (April 19) it will assess a A$3 billion (S$3.09 billion) offer by US private equity firm Oaktree Capital to buy James Packer's 37 per cent stake in the casino operator. Mr Packer's influence on the company he founded came under intense scrutiny in a state inquiry last year that led to Crown's flagship Sydney casino losing its licence. The reclusive billionaire earlier this month indicated he was open to selling his stake as part of a A$8 billion takeover bid by Blackstone Group Inc that would see him pocket around A$2.9 billion. "The Crown Board has not yet formed a view on the merits of the Oaktree proposal," Crown said in a statement. "It will now commence a process to assess the Oaktree proposal." Consolidated Press Holdings (CPH), Mr Packer's private company that holds the Crown stake, Blackstone and Oaktree did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The New South Wales state gaming regulator, which has the authority to restore Crown's Sydney casino licence, recently reached a deal with CPH that would scale back Mr Packer's influence over Crown. More on this topic Related Story Blackstone rolls the dice with ...

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Australia’s Crown Resorts receives $8.3 billion buyout offer from Blackstone

elean
2 minutes

MELBOURNE (REUTERS) - Beleaguered casino operator Crown Resorts said on Monday (March 22) it received a buyout offer from private equity company Blackstone Group Inc that values the company at A$8.02 billion (S$8.31 billion). The offer was priced at A$11.85 per share, a premium of 20.2 per cent to Crown’s closing price of A$9.86 on Friday. Blackstone currently has a 10 per cent stake in Crown which it bought from Macau’s Melco Resorts & Entertainment in April last year, making it the second-largest holder in Crown after the company’s billionaire founder James Packer. Crown said its board had not yet formed a view on the offer and said it would now begin its assessment, urging shareholders to take no action at this stage. Blackstone’s bid comes at a time when the casino operator has seen a string of top executives exit recently after an inquiry accused it of widespread money laundering and governance issues. Crown said the offer was subject to many conditions, including due diligence, arranging debt finance and Blackstone receiving approvals from gambling regulators that it would be allowed continue to own and operate the Sydney, Melbourne & Perth licences. Three Australian states h...

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Crown Resorts denied licence for huge Sydney casino

elean
3 minutes

SYDNEY (AFP) - Regulators have denied Crown Resorts, one of Australia’s biggest gaming groups, a licence to run a new multi-billion-dollar casino in Sydney due to suspected links to organised crime, the company said on Tuesday (Feb 16). Crown said it had been informed of the ruling by the Independent Liquor and Gaming Authority of New South Wales state, which includes Sydney. The authority acted on the recommendations of a public inquiry, which last week reported Crown had been “facilitating” money-laundering through so-called “high roller” gambling junkets linked to Chinese triads and other organised criminal groups. The move came despite the resignations of the Crown CEO and three long-time directors in response to the inquiry’s report. Crown said in a statement that it would continue consultations with the Gaming Authority to address its concerns, though it was not immediately clear what steps would be sufficient to reverse the regulator’s decision. The company and its largest shareholder, media scion James Packer, had been under the spotlight since media reports last year alleged that Crown casinos in Melbourne and Perth were used to launder profits from human trafficking, drug...

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Crown Resorts faces class action over October share plunge

elean
2 minutes

BENGALURU (REUTERS) - Law firm Maurice Blackburn has launched a second class action lawsuit against Crown Resorts, it said on Monday (Dec 14), alleging that the Australian casino giant's corporate failings caused a massive share price plunge in October. Shares of Crown had fallen 10 per cent on Oct 19, when Australia's financial crime agency started investigating the company over suspected failings to comply with anti-money laundering protocols. Over October and November, Crown acknowledged the possibility of money laundering taking place at casinos in an Australian regulatory inquiry that touched on its government failings and its dealing with gambling tour - or "junket" - operators. Since then, the company's gaming license has been suspended, delaying its plan to open a $1.6 billion resort in Sydney. Crown did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. "It's been very disappointing to learn how badly Crown has behaved," lead plaintiff Greg Lieberman, a father of four from Sydney, who invested in Crown, said he law firm's statement. The new lawsuit also alleges Crown managed operations that were not in the best interest of shareholders between December 2014 and Octo...

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Australian casino faces probe over money laundering

elean
2 minutes

SYDNEY • Crown Resorts' stock yesterday slumped the most since March after the casino operator said it is being investigated for possible breach of anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing rules. Australia's financial crimes regulator has started an enforcement probe into compliance at Crown's flagship Melbourne casino, the company said. Austrac's concerns arose during an assessment that started in September last year and focused on how the casino handled individuals deemed to be high-risk and politically exposed. It is not clear who those people were, but Crown has courted wealthy Asians as part of its programmes for high-stakes gamblers. With Crown's annual meeting set for Thursday, the probe piles pressure on a company already beset by governance failures. A separate inquiry in Sydney has unearthed lapses in anti-money laundering controls and there are growing calls from investors for a board shake-up and more independence from billionaire shareholder James Packer. Crown shares sank 8.23 per cent to close at A$8.25 in Sydney trading. That extended the year's slump to 32 per cent. Crown said it will fully cooperate with Austrac and respond to all information requests...

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Crown Resorts says regulator to probe Melbourne casino on money-laundering concerns

elean
2 minutes

BENGALURU (REUTERS) - Casino operator Crown Resorts said on Monday (Oct 19) that Australia's financial crime watchdog had launched a probe into its Melbourne business on suspicions of money-laundering and counter-terrorism financing, sending its shares over 4 per cent lower. The Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre's (Austrac) concerns were identified following a review last September of Crown's management of "customers seen as high risk and politically exposed persons," the company said. Austrac did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. Crown has been facing separate inquiries in Victoria state, home to its flagship Melbourne casino, and in New South Wales following reports the company did business with "junket" tour operators which brought in gamblers, largely from China, with suspected links to organised crime. At the NSW inquiry earlier this month held to decide whether Crown can keep its licence to operate casinos, company founder and one-third owner, billionaire James Packer, acknowledged a host of corporate governance shortcomings. The company is due to open a new casino in Sydney in two months time. More on this topic Related Story Blacksto...