Encore Boston Harbor Casino in the Boston suburb of Everett, Massachusetts, on March 3, 2019. Currently under construction at a cost of approximately $2.6 billion, Encore Boston Harbor is scheduled to open in June 2019 and include hospitality,Paul Marotaa/Getty Images

One of Australia’s largest casino companies Crown Resorts issued a statement that Wynn Resorts had proposed a multibillion-dollar takeover proposal to Crown on Tuesday morning.  

Hours after the Australian casino operator made its announcement, Wynn Resorts released a statement saying the proposed $7 billion deal was dead.

“Following the premature disclosure of preliminary discussions, Wynn resorts has terminated all discussions with Crown Resorts concerning any transaction,” Wynn said in its announcement.

Crown Resorts’ original statement, which they had filed with the Australian Securities Exchange on Tuesday, said Wynn had approached the company with a proposed takeover for $10 billion AUS ($7 billion) at 14.75 Australian dollars per share. Before doing an about-face, Wynn Resorts confirmed the preliminary takeover talks with its own filing with the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission but stressed that the transaction was not definite.

The news of the pending deal sent Crown Resorts shares soaring. They closed up nearly 20%, boosting the company’s valuation to $9.5 billion, up from $7.9 billion on Monday. Australia’s markets were closed by the time Wynn announced it was ending deal discussions. Wynn’s shares have dropped nearly 3% so far today.

The proposed deal was seen as a potential hedge against Wynn’s operations in Macau, where its licenses are up for review this year and where the company made nearly 75% of its $6.72 billion revenue in 2018.

But now the deal is off, and Wynn will not pursue a takeover of Crown, which has a casinos in London, Melbourne and Perth, with and a fourth being built in Sydney. James Packer, Crown Resorts’ largest shareholder, is Australia’s ninth-richest person, with a $4 billion fortune. Packer took over the company after his father passed away, but Packer stepped down from the board in March 2018, reportedly due to mental health issues.

Wynn Resorts has a few balls in the air right now. It’s been just over a year since billionaire cofounder Steve Wynn resigned amid multiple sexual misconduct allegations were revealed by the Wall Street Journal. After resigning, Wynn divested his ownership in the company. Elaine Wynn, cofounder and ex-wife of Steve, is now the company’s largest shareholder, with just over a 9% stake. Last week, Elaine Wynn, Wynn CEO Matthew Maddox and other Wynn executives testified before a Massachusetts Gaming Commission committee in a three-day hearing to decide if the company is still fit to hold its gaming license after the mishandling of employee sexual harassment complaints against Steve Wynn.

In a report published by the state, Massachusetts regulators found that former executives and lawyers for the company worked together to pull off a years-long scheme to cover up employee allegations of sexual misconduct by Steve Wynn. The coverups included monetary settlements and contracts that threatened lawsuits if the former employees ever spoke about the allegations.

The Massachusetts Gaming Commission will be deliberating for the next few weeks and will release a statement once they decide whether Wynn Resorts can hold on to its license to operate the $2.6 billion Encore Boston Harbor Casino in Everett, Massachusetts. The casino is slated to open this June.