Star Entertainment avoids Game Over as Ballys throws $300 Million lifeline

The collapse of the deal means Star Entertainment will retain its 50% equity interest in Destination Brisbane Consortium (DBC). Star must also reimburse the JV partners an estimated $31 million in equity contributions by 5 September. This means Star Entertainment will have to pay back the $10 million it received from the JV partners by next Wednesday. Star Entertainment has announced that the deal to sell its 50% stake in Queen’s Wharf, plus other assets in Brisbane, is now off. The deal falling over would leave Star saddled with those costs, as it attempts to turn its business around with the backing of Bally’s. The termination notice will come into effect next Monday unless it is withdrawn within five business day. The Hong Kong investors poised to buy Star out of Brisbane’s Queen’s Wharf development have threatened to walk away from the deal that was first inked back in March.
US casino operator Bally’s has reportedly shown interest, as has billionaire Clive Palmer. With the company’s future under a cloud, its board is holding out hope of a last-minute rescue, saying on Friday that it expected to receive “possible liquidity solutions” during the day, which would be carefully assessed. Star Entertainment has given its suitor Salter Brothers until the beginning of April to complete due diligence and deliver a $750 million rescue package, as the casino group teeters on the brink of collapse for the second time in a month. The ASX-listed company was hit with a 41 per cent protest vote against its remuneration report as it revealed an unaudited earnings before interest and tax loss of $27 million for the first four months of trading in the new financial year. The casino operator burnt through $107 million of its available cash in the December quarter, which should be its busiest trading period of the year. Meanwhile, Star’s largest shareholder and legendary hotelier Bruce Mathieson had also previously pitched two offers for the company’s Gold Coast casino.
The half-year accounts, originally scheduled for release in February, play video poker online free showed a steep decline in revenues, which Star attributed to the introduction of stricter payment requirements at its Sydney casino. The rules, which started in October, force patrons to use a pre-paid card, which makes online gambling legal advice more difficult and reduces the risk of money laundering. Shares in struggling casino giant Star Entertainment have plummeted on Friday after a brief trading halt was lifted, as the company searches for a financial lifeline to avoid collapsing.
Findings and recommendations from the report have flowed on to have negative consequences to the Star Casino share price. Star has been grappling with a number of tension points since the release of the NSW Independent Casino Commission (NICC)’s Bell Two Inquiry into the casino operator. “While discussions continue with respect to a range of different solutions, there is no certainty that any of these negotiations will result in one or more definitive arrangements that might materially increase the group’s liquidity position.
Star’s board has not been able to sign off on the accounts as the group has not been able to secure financing to ensure it won’t run out of cash as early as this week. Star allowed macau casino player acquisition-based junket operator Suncity to secretly operate an unbranded VIP room, referred to as “Salon 95.” This was despite Australian authorities having identified Suncity as having links to organized crime. “It was unclear whether The Star could feasibly operate under less supervision, when it was exhibiting past behaviors with its license still suspended,” he added.
Star Entertainment’s largest shareholder, billionaire publican Bruce Mathieson, is backing a last-minute rescue offer from an American casino giant and has agreed to tip in more than $50 million if a deal proceeds. Casino operator Star is staring down another major financial threat, despite shareholders approving a $300 million rescue deal last week. Steve McCann, Star’s chief executive, has been in negotiations with a group of potential investors since early March, when he announced a three-part deal to shore up the casino group’s financial future. Shares in struggling casino giant Star Entertainment have plummeted after a brief trading halt was lifted, as the company searches for a financial lifeline by the end of the day.
Shares are currently swapping hands at 25.5 cents per share, a far cry from the $4 per share range Star fetched pre-pandemic. Grattan’s modelling shows that Australians who draw down their super at the minimum deposit casino sites list rate when they retire will leave the equivalent of 65 per cent of their original super balance unspent by the age of 92. The report you reference is from the Grattan Institute, which highlights that many retirees are net savers, with their super balances growing for decades after they retire, for fear of outliving their savings.
The report by the New South Wales Independent Casino Commission (NICC) concluded the operator had not sufficiently addressed the “governance and cultural concerns” highlighted in a 2022 inquiry that initially found it unfit for licensing. The company’s decision to get out of Brisbane and focus on the Gold Coast and Sydney was driven by necessity, and a shift in its direction. The hit to one of Australia’s largest builders makes it another casualty of the ambitious – and financially disastrous – pet project of Star Entertainment.
Star Entertainment was suspended from trading by the ASX on Monday over its failure to lodge financial statements for the December half-year. Star Entertainment Group was delisted from the best Australian sports betting sites comparison Securities Exchange on Monday as the group faces scrutiny over a series of scandals related to criminal activity and unethical conduct at its casinos. “Any deal that promises to keep venues in Brisbane, the Gold Coast and Sydney operating as a going concern is a good result for the Star workers, their families and the communities they live in,” the union’s casino director Andrew Jones said. “We’re always looking at everything within the best user experience online casino interest of the staff certainly our shareholders,” Daniel Finch, CEO The Star Brisbane, said 7NEWS on Monday.