Malaysian casino operator Genting has sold its stake in Australian casino operator The Star Entertainment Group, as rumors swirl that The Star is prepping some kind of union with local rival Crown Resorts.

On Thursday, the Australian Financial Review reported that Genting had sold its 5.62% stake in The Star, netting a reported A$233m (US $180m) in the process. Later that day, the Australian reported that local investment group Perpetual Ltd, which already holds a 12% stake in The Star, had teamed with two other unidentified investors to acquire Genting’s former stake.

Genting’s selloff ends a long and occasionally puzzling investment history that began in 2012 when two Genting subsidiaries acquired 9.7% of The Star (then known as Echo Entertainment). Genting repeatedly flirted with boosting its stake as high as 25% but receiving regulatory approval took years, during which time Genting’s interest apparently waned.

The AFR suggested that Crown may have been among the entities that snapped up Genting’s stake in The Star. Crown once held close to 10% of Echo but sold out in 2013 after it became clear that Crown would win the right to build its own casino in Sydney, which is home to The Star’s eponymous flagship casino.