The market may be tumbling on Thursday but hasn't stopped the Crown Resorts Ltd (ASX: CWN) share price from pushing higher.
At the time of writing, the casino and resorts operator's shares are up a decent 2% to a 52 week high of $13.00.
This compares favourably to a 1.1% decline by the ASX 200 index.
Why is the Crown share price beating the market?
Investors have been bidding the Crown share price higher today following an update on its proposed takeover by private equity firm Blackstone.
Crown is in the process of being acquired by Blackstone via a blockbuster $8.9 billion scheme of arrangement.
According to the release, this morning the Victorian Gambling and Casino Control Commission (VGCCC) and New South Wales Independent Gaming and Liquor Authority (ILGA) have given their approval to Blackstone's acquisition of Crown.
This is a big boost for Blackstone's $13.10 cash per share proposal, as it means there's only limited approvals now required for the deal to complete successfully.
The release notes:
The Scheme remains subject to the receipt of gaming regulatory approval in Western Australia, the approval of the Federal Court of Australia at the final Court hearing in relation to the Scheme, and other customary conditions precedent.
However, as the gaming regulatory approval in Western Australia remains outstanding, the date of the final Federal Court hearing has not yet been fixed. In light of this, Crown will update the market once approval is granted and a court date can be fixed.
Today's gain means the Crown share price is now up over 13% since the start of the year. This means a 20% outperformance compared to the ASX 200 index, which is down 7% year to date.
