SGR ASX: Star Entertainment gives Salter Brothers deal deadline

Exchange operator ASX automatically suspended shares in Star on Monday morning after the casino operator missed Friday's deadline for issuing its earnings update for the first half of the financial year. There remains a large amount of uncertainty surrounding the future of Star’s earnings recovery. The pending AUSTRAC fine, eventual outcome of its Pullman Reef hotel casino seasonal offers license and a probable capital raise in the coming months all weigh heavy on its future performance. The collapse in earnings since fiscal 2024 has indicated Star might not have sufficient liquidity to stay afloat amidst near-term earnings headwinds, the AUSTRAC fine and equity contributions to redevelopment. With a $200 million emergency debt facility at a rate of 13.5%, it appears Star may be buying time ahead of a potentially value-dilutive equity raise in fiscal 2025. Queensland is currently the only state where Star holds an exclusive position and consequently the company is throwing substantial amounts of capital (~$3 billion) in ensuring it stays that way.
Star Entertainment has managed to avoid financial collapse for now after signing a deal to sell its stake in Brisbane’s Queen’s Wharf casino to its two equity partners along with other assets. Star Entertainment halted trading of its shares on Friday after a state-level casino regulator issued a damning report accusing the group of failing to clean up a culture of money laundering and fraud. Australia’s largest publicly traded Las Vegas casino bonus terms operator has been temporarily suspended from the country’s stock exchange after failing to lodge its annual financial results. Star chief executive Steve McCann has been negotiating to lock in a different package which would leave the company’s Queen’s Wharf complex in Brisbane with two Hong Kong investors. That deal is backed by alternative asset manager Salter Brothers and includes a $750 million refinancing.
Star also secured a $200 million debt facility to cover some of its short-term financial needs, but this comes with a hefty 13.5% interest rate. Star will have to repay more than $36 million to its consortium partners between now and September, but the bigger issue is how it will shoulder its share of future equity contributions and the consortium’s debt. "As noted in the company’s recent ASX announcements, there remains material uncertainty as to the group’s ability to continue as a going concern," it said. Star Entertainment has narrowly dodged financial collapse with thousands of jobs saved after a US Oshi crypto casino TRX giant swooped in to rescue the flailing business.
Remember that individual shares or investments should only be considered as part of a broader investing strategy. So first is the cyclical downturn in discretionary spending that's weighing on main floor gaming. We do expect VIP gaming to come back to levels much, much lower than it was pre-COVID. This service may include material from Agence France-Presse (AFP), APTN, Reuters, AAP, CNN and the BBC World Service which is copyright and cannot be reproduced. The potential collapse of the company puts the jobs of about 9,000 workers across its three casinos on the line. The king billy casino Discord group could be broken up in the process, as administrators would search for buyers for individual assets, if the company can't be rescued as a whole.
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. Australian casino bonus list 2026 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 MGM Grand casino tricks 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.
"It's going to be important for both government and the Star casino, or whoever ends up taking that over, for it to be an ongoing viable solution." From now on, he says, the business will be about accommodation, retail and restaurants with gambling as a sideline. No longer listed on the ASX, its financial performance is difficult to gauge but if it had hopes of a quick turnaround and easy profit, they may have been dashed.