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News.com.au
5 minutes ago
- News.com.au
Star Entertainment offloads Brisbane's Queen's Wharf precinct in $53m deal
Star Entertainment will finally offload its share of the Queen's Wharf precinct in Brisbane, ending months of speculation. In an announcement made just before 11am on Tuesday, Star said the new deal was almost identical to the one made in March. It will see the ASX-listed casino sell its 50 per cent stake in the Queen's Wharf precinct to Hong Kong Consortium Chow Tai Fook and Far East Consortium, who each already own 25 per cent of the building. Star will receive $53m in total through the deal, of which the first $45m was paid back in March and the remaining $8m to go through by November 30. The deal will ease the burden on Star, which was facing having to cough up its share of the $1.4bn in debt tied to the Queen's Wharf precinct. Star Entertainment will also take two-thirds of the Dorsett and Andaz hotels, which are currently being built on the Gold Coast by the Hong Kong consortium. Shares in Star jumped 29 per cent to $0.115 on Tuesday following the announcement. The statement said the deal had been approved by US-based owners Bally's Corp. 'The key aspects of the transaction are materially consistent with the Heads of Agreement announced to the ASX on (March 7),' the statement said. Star first struck a deal to sell the complex back in March, before it was revealed the deal was unlikely to be completed by July. Talks stalled and Star was forced to pay its business partners $10m as part of a termination agreement, and a further $31m before September 5. Tuesday's announcement said the transaction would be completed in two separate stages. Firstly, Star will completely exit from the Brisbane precinct. The Gold Coast assets are subject to separate conditions that are due to be completed by the second half of 2026. The deal will significantly improve the embattled Star Entertainment's financial position, with the latest financial results showing it will get more than $700m in liabilities and $350m in development costs off its books through the sale.
ABC News
35 minutes ago
- ABC News
Reserve Bank expected to cut rates later today
Millions of mortgage borrowers will no doubt be anxiously awaiting an interest rates decision from the Reserve Bank later today.
ABC News
35 minutes ago
- ABC News
Star Entertainment Group signs on-again, off-again takeover deal with Hong Kong partners
Besieged gaming giant Star Entertainment has agreed to give up both running and part-owning the $3.6 billion Queen's Wharf casino in Brisbane, cutting a deal to avoid financial calamity. Star told investors this morning it had finally signed an on-again, off-again deal with its controversial Hong Kong partners, one of which was once linked to organised crime figures. That deal is still subject to clearing hurdles including regulatory checks. But, if successful, ASX-listed Star will take stakes in Gold Coast hotels near its casino there. It will also get to pocket $53 million in the deal. Star, in turn, would give up assets including its 50 per cent stake in the consortium behind Queen's Wharf, as well as the Treasury car park and hotel. The move will alleviate a heavy cash flow and debt burden on Star; the consortium had required future equity payments of $212 million and a loan facility of $1.4 billion needed to be refinanced in December this year. One concern during negotiations had been whether Star would get to retain rights and fees to manage the Queen's Wharf. The deal announced on Tuesday specifies that a replacement operator — yet to be named — will come in at some stage. In giving up the operator fee, Star receives compensation of $5 million a month until June next year, scaling up to $7 million monthly by June 2028. Star could even receive a bonus payment of up to $225 million in 2030 based partly on the performance of the consortium. The deal depends on regulatory approvals. A change of ownership would require state approval, but the government has not yet indicated whether that will happen. The Hong Kong consortium partners are Chow Tai Fook (CTF) Enterprises and Far East Consortium. In 2022, the ABC established criminal associations involving CTF, which triggered a government inquiry. Finally released earlier this year, the government report found CTF had falsely and repeatedly claimed to have cut business ties with a criminal syndicate boss. The hidden ties were with junket boss Alvin Chau through a Vietnam casino venture — Chau is now serving 18 years in prison over a billion dollar fraud by his VIP gambling outfit, or 'junket', Suncity. The-then Labor government found CTF was still suitable to hold a casino licence, arguing its lack of "candour and fulsomeness" with the regulator was due to "differences in cultural and organisational expectations". Anti-gaming activists have previously said the state should rule out a takeover due to the crime links. Attorney-General Deb Frecklington's office was contacted for comment on Tuesday. Star's financial performance had been crumbling after being smashed by regulatory inquiries and increasingly tough gaming regulations. Its shares were trading higher than $4 each in 2019, but those are now wallowing around 12 cents.
