In a filing to the Australian Stock Exchange, the operator said it has been informed by Blackstone that the investment firm has received written confirmation from the FIRB that the Commonwealth Government has no objection to the proposed acquisition by way of the proposed Scheme.

“Blackstone has confirmed that the FIRB condition contained in clause 3.1(a) of the Scheme Implementation Deed dated 14 February 2022 (a copy of which was released to the ASX on 14 February 2022) has now been satisfied,” a statement from Crown read.

“The implementation of the Scheme remains subject to a number of other conditions, including approval from Gaming Regulatory Authorities, Crown shareholder approval and Court approval, as outlined in the Scheme Implementation Deed.”

Last month, following a handful of different offers from Blackstone, the board of Crown unanimously recommended that shareholders vote in favour of the AU$8.9bn (US$6.33bn) offer.

The deal would see the US company acquire all of the shares in the operator by way of a scheme of arrangement at a price of AU$13.10 cash per share. 

The consideration represents an increase in equity value of over AU$845m to the price of AU$11.85 cash per share initially offered by Blackstone in March 2021.

Blackstone was one of two investment groups to show an interest in Crown, alongside Oaktree Capital Management.