Oct. 12 (Bloomberg) -- Crown Ltd., Australia’s biggest casino owner, rose the most in seven months in Sydney trading after the purchase of 3 percent of its stock in a single block stoked expectations of a takeover bid.
Crown shares rose 11 percent to A$9.39 as of 10:53 a.m., the largest gain on an intraday basis since March 13.
Shares worth A$205 million ($186 million) changed hands after the market closed on Oct. 9 at a 6 percent premium to the share price at the time, according to stock exchange data. Chairman James Packer, who owns 37 percent of Crown, was the buyer, the Australian Financial Review reported, without saying where it got the information.
“The stake certainly is fuelling expectations of a bid,” said Cameron Peacock, an analyst at IG Markets in Melbourne. “There has been speculation Packer wants to privatize Crown and that the purchase was his.”
Packer, 42, has raised almost A$900 million this year selling private assets. Last month he sold his 21 percent stake in investment manager Challenger Financial Services Group and a 13 percent holding in property developer Sunland Group Ltd. for about A$30 million.
Creep Rules
Under Australia’s so-called creep rules, an investor that exceeds a 20 percent holding can’t buy more than 3 percent every six months without making a full takeover offer.
Anthony Klok, a spokesman for Melbourne-based Crown, declined to comment to Bloomberg News today.
In March, Packer sold the family’s Australian cattle ranches to U.K. buyout firm Terra Firma Capital Partners Ltd. for about A$425 million. Packer also owns a 41 percent holding in Consolidated Media Holdings Ltd.
Packer used the creep provisions to increase his stake in Consolidated Media after rival billionaire Kerry Stokes of Seven Network Ltd. built up a 19.9 percent holding.
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