Star receives $250M lifeline from Bally’s Corporation
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Star Entertainment secures $53M lifeline
Australian gambling operator Star Entertainment sells a 50% stake in Brisbane’s Queen’s Wharf development to its Hong Kong-based partners, Far East Consortium and Chow Tai Fook Enterprises, and gets $53 million in funding as an exchange.
Star’s shares were suspended from trading on the ASX on Monday after failing to submit its half-year reports. Before the suspension, shares were trading at just 11 cents.
To address financial issues, Star announced that it was open to offers for Queen’s Wharf back in February. Now, the funding deal, confirmed in a Hong Kong stock exchange filing on Friday, means Star will now own two-thirds of a Gold Coast casino project instead.
A statement from Chow Tai Fook and Far East Consortium said:
“To ensure the continuity of the Brisbane casino and the jobs it has created, The Star and its Queens Wharf employees will continue to manage the casino operations in a new service agreement with Destination Brisbane Consortium. The agreement will therefore provide security and certainty for 2700 employees and small businesses in Brisbane that are reliant on Queens Wharf, as well as providing fair value and liquidity to The Star.”
Star’s continued struggles
For many years, Star has operated casinos in Sydney, Brisbane, and the Gold Coast. However, regulatory investigations into money laundering and organized crime have seriously damaged the company’s reputation.
Star’s Queen’s Wharf project aimed to fuel growth but ended up adding to Star’s financial crisis. The $3.8 billion project became too expensive, and new gambling rules and cash bans made things worse.
For now, the $53 million deal buys Star some time. But its future remains uncertain.
Star Entertainment faces shares suspension
Shares in Star Entertainment have been suspended from trading on the stock exchange after the company's failure to submit its financial results on time.The suspension...
