SGR ASX: Star Entertainment seals Queens Wharf casino deal with Chow Tai Fook and Far East, avoids administration

Star Brisbane casino points system continues to face cost challenges that include the multimillion-dollar legal bills of its former board members who are now before the Federal Court facing civil action by the Australian casino handbook Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC). The transaction structure and specific terms “remain unclear” said Far East, which will receive an $18 million break fee from Star if the deal fails. The agreement, first reported in The Australian Financial Review, is still subject to approval from Star’s regulators and lenders, according to Far East. “It has only very recently turned its attention to dealing with challenges that should have been prioritised earlier,” NICC chief commissioner Philip Crawford said.
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 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 published report states that it made a loss before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation costs of $27 million for the quarter to June 30, on revenue of $270 million. Star said Destination Brisbane Consortium (DBC), in which it continues to hold a 50 per cent equity stake, has a debt exposure of $1.4 billion. It now also remains exposed to $200 million of future equity contributions to DBC due to massive cost overruns at the $3.6 billion resort.
A 2022 NSW inquiry found damning evidence of Paradise 8 real money gaming with high RTP slots laundering and counter-terrorism failings at the groups’ Sydney casino while a 2024 probe found more breaches. The casino group was once worth billions of dollars but has since been slapped with fines totalling more than $210 million and licence suspensions after money laundering allegations. The Star has been in a trading halt since the end of February after being unable to file its half-year financial report without a refinancing plan to save it. Owned by American financier Soo Kim, a self-described corporate fireman, Bally’s specializes in rescuing casinos from financial distress and turning them profitable. The group’s board will now seek for all shareholders to agree unanimously to the deal as it is within their best online casino for Aussie slots interests and will unlock the remaining Bally’s contribution, the ASX statement said. Star is exploring a possible injection of $100 million by its largest shareholder Bruce Mathieson and if this occurs, Bally’s contribution would drop to $200 million.
On Tuesday, a fresh notice showed his shareholding had increased from 5.5 per cent to 6.52 per cent. The following $200 million is subject to a shareholder vote and regulatory approvals. (It might even come in two lots of $100 million, the first after a shareholder vote and Caesars Palace Ethereum the latter after approvals). A proposed long-term funding deal with Salter Brothers last week could not be finalised. The first party pokie payment methods 2026 — about $100 million — will be made on Wednesday to allow the operator to stay afloat. Last month it offered Star a $250 million deal and the Australian casino group wouldn’t even meet with them. Company information displayed on The Australian Financial Review is sourced from Morningstar and ASX and is subject to their terms and conditions as set out in our Terms of Use.