SGR News, Analysis, Announcements & Results The Star Entertainment Group Limited

Sign Up for Take StockInvestment news, stock ideas, and more, straight to your inbox. The Star is continuing to engage with the Joint Venture Partners and will provide an update if there are any material developments regarding the parties’ respective interests in DBC and DGCC. However, Star and its JV partners were “unable to reach agreement on a number of outstanding commercial issues” relating to the deal. Revenues are down, with Star Entertainment reporting an unaudited $270 million in revenue for 4Q FY25, down 31% on 4Q FY24. “[It’s] loaded with $650 million of its own debt, is still less than 50 per cent operational and requires hundreds of millions of dollars in additional capital expenditure to complete,” Mr Mayne noted.
The refunding was being sought to help it trade through the next six months and retain its casino licence in Sydney. Embattled casino operator Star Entertainment says it has been unable to reach a deal with Hong Kong investors to buy its stake in Brisbane’s Queen’s Wharf development. Australians are paying $9.2 million in interest charges per day on a collective credit card debt of $18.02 billion, at the average interest rate of 18.71 per cent. In a quarterly update to investors on Monday, ASX-listed Star said its revenue had fallen 15 per cent in the December quarter, citing ongoing weakness in its operating performance. It pointed to a “challenging” consumer environment, the impact of carded play in NSW, and expenses caused by a series of regulatory and compliance problems. Coincidentally, another significant shareholder in E-Commerce is PAG – a major Asian investment company that is the largest shareholder in troubled Australian airline Rex.
The company told shareholders on Friday that it would halt trading and publish its full-year results later in the day. That’s while it “considered the implications” of a damning report by New South Wales (NSW) regulators that found it was still unsuitable to hold a gaming license for its flagship Star Sydney property. Star is preparing to announce a $1.4bn write-down of its Aussie casino free spins assets and a major cost-cutting programme, the Australian Financial Review reported on Monday.
However, the proposal was laced with conditions, including the approval of NSW and Queensland governments and regulators, and a satisfactory settlement with existing lenders. The success of any deal is dependent on its lenders, who need to agree to any asset sale or refinance of their debt which is paying interest of more than 13 per cent. Star subsequently lied to CUP and the National Australia Bank in an effort to conceal the deceit.
A 2022 NSW inquiry found damning evidence of money laundering and counter-terrorism failings at the groups’ Sydney Wazamba casino live dealer poker 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 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.
For a sharemarket gambler, an investment in Star is the ultimate high-adrenaline bet. And make no mistake – this is a big bet from an investor – even one who is located at the epicentre of gambling and space force age verification who thrives on risk. He has been stalking Star since September last year but only showed his hand this week when his stake tipped over the 5 per cent notification threshold.
Star investors who got excited on Monday by the left-field emergence of a mystery Macau buyer of the casino’s shares would be wise to curb their enthusiasm. There is nothing about Xingchun Wang’s taking a 5.5 per cent stake that looks like a white knight rescue attempt. Morningstar lowers our Uncertainty Rating from Extreme to very high after the results of the second bell inquiry were passed down. The scrutiny into Star’s suitability to hold a Casino discount codes AU licence ended in the best plausible outcome that the company could have hoped for. Whilst they are currently deemed unsuitable to hold a Aussie casino free spins license, the enquiry ruled that the license need not be revoked entirely. Star’s core asset is The Star Sydney, which at one point was generating ~70% of the group’s earnings as the only casino in Sydney.
The fact that it hasn’t suggests the board and Motor Inn secure payments its advisers are engaged in the same hunting expedition as everyone else – attempting to dig out details on this new mysterious investor who is now Star’s second-largest shareholder. In an update posted to the ASX on Monday night, Star has confirmed it has agreed to a $300 million rescue package with American casino and gaming group, Bally’s. Star — which owns casinos in Brisbane, the Gold Coast and Sydney and employs more than 9,000 people — has warned for months it could fall into administration if a financier was not found.
Earlier this month Star confirmed its partners in the Queen’s Wharf facility — Chow Tai Fook Enterprises (CTF) and Far East Consortium (FEC) — have offered to buy out its share. United Workers Union casinos director Andrew Jones said there was growing frustration amongst staff towards Star’s “business as usual” approach. The company employs 9,000 people across Queensland and New South Wales, with 3,000 in Brisbane, about 2,000 on the Gold Coast and 3,500 in Sydney, as well as about 400 corporate staff. Star was reported to be considering a $650 million debt refinancing offer from Oaktree Capital Management last week.